What You Left Behind
by RiverHead.CF
Summary: "Tell me, I'm your baby, and you'll never leave me, forever..." The night of homecoming, everything changed for Betty & Jughead. When they're reunited four years later, will either of them be able to forgive the other for the life-changing secrets that they have both held close? Because, the thing is, Jughead Jones hadn't just left behind the love of his life that night...
1. Tell Me

**CHAPTER ONE – Tell Me**

 _Tell me I'm your baby  
_ _And you'll never leave me  
_ _Tell me that you'll kiss me  
_ _ **Forever...**_

It turns out that 'forever' has an expiration date.

In fact, for one young pair of lovebirds, forever only lasted until the night of FP Jones's arrest.

Forever ended when Jughead Jones ran away from Riverdale High School, away from his friends and his girlfriend, not looking back...

It was the night that all had seemed lost to a broken, seventeen-year-old boy. Hearing the words that his father had been arrested simply acted as the straw that broke the camel's back. Consequently, feeling the flood of emotion as his world that had been filled with hope comes crumbling down, that devastated young boy had run away from his high school homecoming, leaving his best friends that had betrayed him and his girlfriend who had been caught up in the crossfire.

As the school doors flew open, three teenagers watched on helplessly as Jughead Jones raced away from them, away from the school and ran out of their lives. However, in that moment not one of them thought that it would mark the last time. Not one of them thought that he had no intention of ever coming back.

Now, that night there happened to be one, last bus headed out of Riverdale, bound for Oklahoma; a destination that one young teenager could exchange with a one-way ticket that was originally purposed to get him to Toledo. However, after the change of plan and now with a newfound purpose, Oklahoma would be just _fine_ for what Jughead Jones had set out to do...

* * *

 _Tell me I'm your baby  
_ _And you'll never leave me  
_ _Tell me that you'll kiss me  
_ _Forever..._

It had been their song.

It was the song that she would twirl her hair to, while thinking about a certain beanie-clad boy, whenever they were apart... It was the song that she had shown him when she opened up and exposed a little piece of herself to him by sharing the song that she confessed reminded her of _them_... It was the song that they would then repeat to one another, meaning every word of the lyrics every time that they repeated them to the other person... It was the song that became _their_ song.. It was the song that she had cried her broken heart out to... Then, it had become the song that a young mother would gently sing to her daughter as a baby in a desperate attempt to lull her to sleep, willing to try absolutely _anything_ if it would calm her child...

Snapping Betty from her thoughts, two big, bright blue eyes mirroring her father's look up to her mother's green ones.

"Mummy... Can you sing, please?"

It is a part of the little girl's night-time routine. Bath, bed, story, song, sleep.

Betty never _volunteers_ to sing that particular song. However, it is the _only_ song that her stubborn daughter will ever accept as a night-time lullaby.

When that very same question is repeated by her little girl each and every night, Betty had tried singing almost any other song in response. Her efforts ranged from _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star_ , to a Coldplay one, to _Bohemian Rhapsody_ , to a One Direction hit. However, no matter what other song Betty knowingly tries to supplement it with, she is always met with the same answer.

"Not that one, mummy! The for-wever song! _You know_ , mummy..."

Looking into her daughter's pleading, electric blue eyes that are entirely _his_ , Betty can't stop the smile on her face. She can't say no to her little girl's request. No matter how hard it is to keep her voice strong and no matter how much pain that song brings her with the onslaught of bittersweet memories, her pain is always worth it for adding to even just a little piece of her daughter's happiness.

 _Whisper that you love me  
_ _That you'll never leave me  
_ _Be mine for always  
_ _I'll be yours forever_

After hesitantly and softly singing just a few verses, Betty peers over to look at her daughter from where she's resting on her bedside. She quickly notes that the little girl's eyes have fallen shut and her mouth is beginning to open just a little as her breaths grow deeper and deeper. She is quite clearly falling to sleep.

Betty can't stop her smile. She's always loved watching her daughter as she sleeps. Even after an awful, long, tiring day, watching her seems to be the remedy for just about anything.

Leaning down to press a single, gentle kiss to her three-and-a-half year old daughter's disheveled, golden curls, Betty prepares to pry herself away from watching her little girl, forcing herself to leave the little, dusty-pink bedroom.

"Goodnight, Bailey-girl. I love you."

...

You see, the thing is, Jughead Jones hadn't **just** left behind his girlfriend that night. He hadn't **just** left behind the love of his life.

He had left behind his daughter.

... He had left behind their child, too.

 _Tell me I'm your baby  
_ _And you'll never leave me  
_ _Tell me that you'll kiss me  
_ _ **Forever**_

* * *

 **Hi guys! New story here, starting with the song that made the beginning of Riverdale so iconic. This is just a very random idea that I had a few weeks back and an idea I've been working on since, but it's definitely another Bughead one.** **Please let me know if you're interested and you'd like to read more. I have quite a few ideas for places where this one could go, too, exploring Betty & Bailey's life and also where Jughead has wound up.**

 **Next chapter: Come along for the journey as Betty's world comes crashing down, before picking herself back up again. **

**Don't forget to follow, favourite and let me know what you think so far/if you'd like to see some more!**


	2. Unfounded Faith

**CHAPTER TWO – Unfounded Faith**

" _I love Jughead... He is just as much my family as you are, more so, right now."_

Seventeen-year-old Betty's stern words to her mother had been filled with such conviction, such confidence in her boyfriend and her love for him on the night that he had ran away and never came back.

Her words had shown no evidence of how unfounded, her faith and her love in Jughead Jones had been.

After all, she had _no_ clue of what was ahead for her. She had _no_ idea that by this point, she had already seen him for the last time...

As the days following homecoming passed by and for the first week after Jughead left, Betty threw herself and all of her time and efforts into detective-mode. She kept her mind busy and made sure that she was preoccupied by doing everything that she could do to track down her boyfriend... She wrote lengthy emails, made regular phone calls trying to call him every few hours, sent him pleading text messages, made calls to his mother checking if he was with her or if she'd heard from him and she desperately begged Sheriff Keller for any information, pressing him to look into Jughead whereabouts and to start a search for him.

During that first, long week, Betty had been hopeful. She couldn't stop herself and she couldn't resist looking up each time someone entered a room or walked past. She couldn't stop herself from looking for the top of a beanie among the booths in _Pop's_ or listening out for the familiar, slightly nasally voice among chatter.

However, with each day that passed over the course of that week, her hope -slowly, but surely- began to fade. Consequently, she could feel herself clinging to the dwindling hope and faith that she had in him; all that she had left. In fact, she almost lead herself to sensory overload as she tried to take in every tiny little detail; everything that she saw and everything that she heard. She was so desperate for anything that would either lead her to Jughead, or, even just give her the smallest piece of hope that would renew her dissolving faith in him. Something, _anything_...

A turning point came when Sheriff Keller finally began to take the teenager's pleas seriously, leading to a brief search into the whereabouts of Forsythe Pendleton the III. While it wasn't quite a missing person's case, it did require a reasonable amount of probing into the trail that Jughead had left upon leaving Riverdale. Then, this lead to Betty receiving a phone call from Sheriff Keller, inviting her to come down to the station exactly one week after Jughead raced out of Riverdale High.

Sitting across from the greying father of one of her best friend's, Betty nips at her bottom lip nervously, trying to read the expression on his face as she waits to hear what she can only assume are the results of his findings after she had expressed concern for her boyfriend's welfare.

"It's good news, Miss Cooper. He's alive. He's okay. Video footage captured Mr. Jones getting on a bus the night of his father's arrest. Now, I can't disclose where he is, but he has left a trail. This has been corroborated by confirmation of sightings and additional footage that show he's alive and well."

The news was bitter-sweet. In part, Betty was flooded with relief to hear that the boy who has her heart is safe and okay... However, the other part of her felt her stomach drop and plummet from within her, realising that means he'd left town of his own accord without even saying goodbye. It means that he had left _her_ and that he had ignored _her,_ intentionally.

"Okay, that's good... Thank you for looking into it and letting me know" Betty replied politely, in a low whisper, struggling with feeling like she had been punched in the gut, consequently being left feeling winded.

At the feeling of her hope and her faith in him departing so suddenly, Betty felt empty; like there's nothing left. But, as she stood up to begin to leave the Sheriff's office, she is stopped before having a chance to leave.

"Miss Cooper? I know it's not any of my business, but sometimes the people that we want to help the most, don't want to be helped. Sometimes, the best thing is to just let go or else it becomes a kamikaze mission."

Stopped in the doorway of the room, Betty looked over to the older man and nodded at his advice just a little; the most effort that she could muster up.

' _Just let go.'_

Easier said than done...

Having heard of the findings firsthand from his father, Kevin had called their friends, knowing that Betty would need each and every one of them to be there and support her. So, when one teenage girl's world crumbled around her upon leaving Sheriff Keller's office, Archie, Veronica and Kevin are there, waiting to pick up the pieces as her whole world caved in when the heartbreaking truth is suddenly realised.

Without hesitation, Veronica arms were instantly thrown around her best friend, holding her close and holding her tight while Betty's heart is consumed by breaking into a million little pieces. Then, after the two girls pulled away, it became obvious that Betty's moisture-filled eyes are filled with tears that she had spent the last week holding back, along with the truth that she knew all along, the truth that she had been fighting to keep from herself...

"He's gone... Isn't he? He's not coming back... He doesn't _want_ to be found."

#

If everyone had thought that the week of walking on eggshells around Betty had been hard as they waited for her to react like a ticking time bomb, then they had no idea what they were bracing for in the month after that.

Her visit to the Sheriff had been when the blow finally hit.

Because, when Jughead Jones had left her life, it had brought her whole world to come crashing down around her...

... She didn't know where he had gone. She didn't know who he had gone with. She didn't even really know if he was safe.

It had prompted a month of Betty refusing to leave her room, much to the concern of her family and her closest friends. She pushed away all their efforts to comfort her, to help her and to distract her from her broken heart and the consequential darkness in her life. She had pushed it _all_ and _them_ all away. Consequently, her concerned friends and family spent that entire month feeling absolutely helpless. They had to learn to accept that Betty is her own person and that she needed to deal with her life-shattering heartbreak in whatever way was the right way for her.

As a result, her way meant that it took Betty a whole month to get out of bed after she realised that her boyfriend –the boy she loves with all her heart- had left her, without even saying so much as a goodbye.

However, things changed just over a month later.

The day came when Veronica routinely knocked on her bedroom door, informing Betty who it was and asking her to let her in, just as she had done every day over the last month. However, this particular day brought a different result.

When Betty finally opened the door to her best friend, Veronica quickly noted that her eyes were just as red and just as bloodshot as they had been a month earlier when she'd first shut herself in her bedroom.

But, before Veronica had a chance to move and before she had a chance to say a single word, Betty dropped the bombshell that she needed to release after she had single-handedly shouldered it for the last few days, carrying the weight of her latest fear...

"V? I think I might be pregnant..."

#

Just under eight months later, on a warm July day, little Bailey Juliet Jones was born to her single mother who was just was a few weeks shy of turning eighteen.

Taking her newborn baby daughter into her arms for the very first time, little Bailey instantly became the sunshine and ray of light in everyone's lives from that day on, including the person who needed it the most; her mother.

After all, while Jughead Jones had left Betty Cooper without even a goodbye, unbeknownst to them both, he had left her with quite the parting gift...

The greatest gift of all.

Because, their daughter was the gift that had slowly helped to mend Betty's broken heart and piece her life back together again.

* * *

 **There we have the second installment! I hope you're enjoying it so far. Now, the jury is still out as to whether or not I'm going to continue with this one or not, so please drop a review and let me know what you thought and if you'd like to see more.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has followed & favourited this story so far. Also, little shout-out to kitten9322 and aussiebornwriter for reviewing the first chapter!**

 **Next chapter: We go back to present-day life for Betty & Bailey, as well as a glimpse into where Jughead Jones is today. **


	3. Bailey

**CHAPTER THREE – Bailey**

Betty is standing at the kitchen counter, whisking the batter for their breakfast of banana pancakes. The young mum is forever trying to find healthy versions of foods that Bailey insists on and consequently Betty has equipped herself with recipes such as veggie burgers, sweet potato brownies and most recently, banana pancakes.

Shifting her eyes away from the frying pan as the batter within it slowly cooks, Betty glances over to where Bailey is sitting at the dining table, dressed and ready to go, with her small purple backpack placed on the chair beside her. The little girl's gorgeous locks that are as golden as mother's are would _normally_ fall around her face, framing it with little curls that she had inherited from her father. However, earlier that morning, Betty had spent time brushing her daughter's hair, plaiting it into two, sweet, even little piggy-tails that hang either side of her head.

As she waits for her mother to cook breakfast, the little girl is concentrating on colouring in the picture of a Disney princess in her colouring book. Sending another glance her daughter's way, Betty can see the focus on Bailey's face as she diligently tries to colour within the lines; her eyebrows knitted with concentration.

Seeing the expression on her daughter's face, Betty knows _exactly_ where Bailey got that one from. Noting just how identical that particular expression is to Jughead's, Betty can't help but smile at the familiarity. But, she is also unable to control the feeling of bittersweet sadness that follows it.

It is hard to escape the constant reminders of him in their daughter when Betty sees _so_ much of Jughead in Bailey...

For the people in Betty and Bailey's life who _don't_ know the three-and-a-half-year olds absent father, it is easy to see the similarities between the young mother and her daughter. After all, there is no denying the way that her eyes light up like her mother's or the way that Bailey nips her lip when she's uncomfortable.

But, for those who _do_ know Jughead Jones, it is almost impossible to ignore the striking similarities to him that shine through in his daughter. Bailey's features; her long slim face, her shade of sky-blue eyes, the shape of her little nose and the way her eyes scrunch up as she smiles, are entirely all Jughead.

However, where she lacks Betty's looks in favour of her father's features, Bailey makes up for it in terms of her personality that is a replica of her mother's good-natured, cheerful and people-pleasing manner.

Their friends, family and the people who know both of Bailey's parents often comment how she might remind them so much of Betty one day, but then she's completely Jughead the next. However, the general consensus seems to be that overall, Bailey looks like her father in appearance -aside from Betty's bright, big eyes in a Jughead hue of blue- combined with her little personality that completely reflects her mother.

However, no matter whose nose or smirk you might think that Bailey has, there is no denying that the little girl is a fairly even mix of both her parents.

"Do you know what day it is today, little B?"

"Mm... No."

"Well, it was Thursday yesterday. So, what day comes after Thursday?"

"Friday!"

"Good girl! Now, what do you do on Friday's, Bailey-girl?"

"Oh! Friday is play day, isn't it mummy?!"

Betty chuckles at her daughter's excitement, as if every day isn't _already_ 'play day' for the three-year-old. However, to Bailey, Friday in particular is known as 'play day' as she spends the day with her doting grandparents who love nothing more than playing with and spoiling the little girl. Each Friday she alternates between spending the day with either Betty's parents or with Jughead's father, FP. It's a little weekly tradition that has been in place since Bailey was about six months old.

Having her daughter babysat for just one day a week gave the single mother a much-needed day to recharge her own batteries that allow her to power on as super-mum or it gave Betty the chance to run errands and do other things that are a little harder to do with her daughter.

Last Friday Bailey had spent the day with Betty's parents, baking some chocolate chip cookies in the morning with her Nana in the morning and then she did some tinkering with her Grandad in the afternoon, up until dinnertime when Betty picked her up. Consequently, this week she is due to spend the day with Jughead's father.

"That's right, Bay. You're going to go and play at Grandpa's house today."

Although it was FP's arrest that sparked Jughead's breakdown, with an amazing lawyer he had been released from jail just under a year later; just weeks after Betty had given birth to Bailey.

However, after his release wasn't the first time that he had heard of his newborn granddaughter. No, Betty had visited him in prison in a desperate bid to find Jughead, hoping that he may have contacted his father. When she visited FP, Betty was only in the early stages of her pregnancy and it's a detail that would have been barely evident had she not told him and shared her news.

Then, after his release from prison, FP had paid the teenager a visit. He had sincerely professed how, with her permission, he would like the opportunity to be a part of her child's –his grandchild's- life, having learnt his lesson with failing to be there for and a part of his own children's lives. In response, Betty had been very cooperative with FP, more than willing to allow him to have contact with Bailey. In fact, she was glad for her daughter to have at least _someone_ from her father's side of the family in her life.

As a result, FP now has a very close relationship with his granddaughter. He sees the little girl that he dotes on as much as she adores him back, several times a month at least, if not weekly.

"Yay! Grandpa's house today! Maybe I can play with Hot Doggie today..."

Betty turns off the stovetop, walking over to the dining table from where she had been preparing their breakfast of pancakes in the kitchen. As she presses a kiss to her daughter's golden locks that are plaited into the two piggy-tails, Betty places the plate down in front of Bailey with a smile of encouragement, knowing that the doting grandfather would be _more than_ happy to oblige with the little girl's request.

"Well, if you remember your manners and ask Grandpa nicely, I'm _sure_ that he'll be happy for you to play with Hot Dog."

* * *

 **Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, as well as everyone who followed/favourited the story. I hope you'll continue to enjoy this journey!**

 **To make up for this one being a little on the shorter side, the next chapter will be double in size. That one is all written up too so keep an eye out as it should be up within the next few days.**

 **Also, I'm sorry for the slight change in plan for the chapter. I felt that it was more important to introduce and establish Bailey as a character _before_ we see where Jughead is at. That will most definitely happen in the next chapter instead. But, I hope you liked meeting Bailey a little better and seeing who she's like and how she takes after each of her parents. **

**Next chapter : FP & Bailey spend the day together. And then we _finally_ see where Jughead is at! Where do you think he is and what do you think is happening in _his_ life?**


	4. A Picture Paints A Thousand Words

**CHAPTER FOUR – A Picture Paints A Thousand Words**

"Grandpa!" Bailey exclaims with delight as she and her mother arrive at the Sunnyside Trailer Park a little later that same morning.

Upon catching sight of the man who is working on his bike out the front of his trailer, Bailey releases her grip on her mother's hand and rushes over to her grandfather, arms wide open.

The older man instantly drops his tools and moves away from his bike in order to crouch down a little with open arms, preparing himself to catch the three-year-old that is catapulting herself towards him.

"Hi sweetheart! How's my favourite little girl today?"

"Bailey's good, Grandpa."

Watching the interaction between the two as she listens in from the sidelines, Betty can't stifle her own chuckle. Not consistently, but quite a lot lately, Bailey has been referring to herself in third person and Betty finds it hilarious hearing it from her three-year-old.

Overall and referring to herself in third-person aside, Bailey speaks very well for her age. After all, both her parents are proficient in their use of the English language and that along with the fact that the little girl is predominantly in the company of adults has had a very positive impact on her speech, in comparison to other children her age.

"Anyway, I'll leave you two to it" Betty says interrupting the greetings, catching the attention of both the older man and her daughter as they turn around to look at her. "Bye Bailey-girl... And I'll see you later, FP."

Moving away from her grandfather, Bailey races back over to Betty, throwing her little arms around her mother's neck in a goodbye hug.

"Bye mummy... Love you."

"I love you most, baby" Betty whispers into her daughter's hair. Pressing a kiss to the top of Bailey's head, they stay there with their arms wrapped around each other until the child begins to squirm and fidget from within her mother's arms, racing back over to be by grandfather's side.

Before leaving, Betty hands Bailey's backpack over to FP, who pulls the girl that he loves like a daughter in for a quick hug goodbye also. As the two adults pull away and apart from each other, FP lingers a little, looking down at Betty seriously.

"Betty... _Thank you_."

His words are earnest and sincere.

Every time that he is permitted to see or spend time with his only grandchild, FP makes sure that he doesn't take it for granted, making sure he views the opportunity as being precious. Each time, he also ensures that he thanks Betty for allowing it. It's almost as though each time he sees Bailey he is fearful that each time may be the last; after all he knows exactly what it is like to have a little girl that he loves snatched out of his life.

Maybe the older Jones man is just a little insecure, fearing that the things and the people that he loves the most are going to be snatched away from him at any given time.

 _Like father, like son_...

#

Ever so much like her parent's fondness for the pastime that had paved the way to them falling in love, little Bailey Jones is a born investigator.

She loves exploring and she loves investigating. She loves seeing new places and looking at new things, or, even simply just re-examining things a little more carefully. She loves looking through little nooks and crannies, trying to find little pieces of the past or things that people had forgotten over time. And, she loves coming up with little theories and guesses behind her findings. In fact, just earlier that week, she had found some fish food flakes which Bailey had concluded are just dried up snowflakes that hadn't been caught.

For the three-year-old, exploring her grandfather's trailer is no different as she carefully looks at different details each time she visits. Today she has already extensively examined FP's DVD collection along with performing a thorough investigation into his kitchen cupboards.

Bailey has now moved onto examining the assortment of photos that are display on her grandfather's fridge. As much as -or even _more_ than- she loves exploring, Bailey loves looking at photos, trying to find people and faces that she recognises.

"Who's dat, Grandpa?" Bailey queries inquisitively, her chubby little finger pressing onto one of the oldest photos on the fridge.

She points to the photo of a young FP and his best mate at the time, Fred Andrews, both wearing dated clothes in the worst colours imaginable that just top off their cringe-worthy hair cuts that were a little too close to coming from the 80's than they should have been. His granddaughter's attention to the photo elicits a chuckle of embarrassment from FP.

"That there is your Uncle Archie's dad and me, Bailey. We were about as old as your mummy is."

Bailey's eyes widen a little at the concept and you can almost see her mind being blown away by the idea. Then, she looks back at the photo a little more intently after receiving the new information, followed by a satisfied little nod as she moves onto the next picture.

"Who's dat girl?"

The next photo that Bailey has zeroed in on is of her own aunt, the aunt who she has never met.

"That's _my_ little girl... Her name's Jellybean."

Looking up at her grandfather, a wild grin, crosses the little girl's lips, her big, blue eyes shining brightly as she releases a little giggle.

"I _like_ jellybeans, Grandpa..."

FP just chuckles and playfully ruffles the top of the head of the little girl with the one-track mind. He remembers way back when _he_ once had a little boy who couldn't keep his mind off of food and his next meal, too.

Returning to the cluster of old photos, Bailey examines a few momentarily before focusing on another one, pressing her finger right in the middle of the face of the next unfamiliar profile.

"And who's dat one, Grandpa?"

Looking at which photo the little girl has innocently pointed out, FP takes a sharp inhale of breath. He isn't sure exactly how much Betty has told Bailey about her father, the man in the photo, but FP isn't about to put his foot in it, deciding to play it safe.

"Uh... That's my son, Bailey."

"Son? Grandpa's _son_...? Like the _sun_ in the sky?"

FP chuckles. He feels instantly grateful for his granddaughter's innocent comment that works as the perfect distraction for him after his sudden onslaught of nerves that had been brought on by Bailey's previous question.

"No, sweetie..." FP corrects with a warm smile, his lingering laugh still on his lips from her latest question. "No, that's a different kind of sun. It means that I'm his dad."

FP doesn't say a word about the fact that while **he** is the father of the boy in the picture, the boy in the picture is the father of _her_. However, just because he doesn't say it does not mean that FP's not thinking it...

Bailey falls silent, once again taking a moment to digest the new information. Satisfied, she turns back to the fridge, standing on her tippy-toes this time, attempting to see some of the photos that are placed higher on the fridge when she releases a shrill gasp of excitement as she waves her finger at a photo she can't quite reach.

"Look! That's me, Grandpa! That's Bailey!"

FP can't resist or hold back his smile at seeing the happiness and the joy on the face of that little girl that he couldn't adore more as Bailey sees how the photo that her mother had given to her grandfather almost six months ago is plastered on the fridge, with pride of place.

#

Halfway across the country, the boy in the picture that his daughter had pointed out is sitting at an old desk that had seen better days in a small, modest home in Oklahoma.

For almost the entire evening, Jughead has been focused on typing away as words flow through his fingers, composing a melody of literature.

However, when an older gentleman who is in his late sixties stands in the doorway and peers into the living room that Jughead is in, it happens to be at just the _wrong_ moment. Consequently, the older man catches the younger one during a pause from his writing, when he is holding an old, worn photo in his hand.

"Are you _still_ pining over that pretty blonde, Forsythe?"

Thankfully the darkness of the room masks the flush of red that has come over the beanie-clad young man's cheeks, so he brushes the comment off.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, you old coot. I think it's about time you stopped putting off that appointment with your optometrist."

From where he is standing in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, Doug, the older man, just chuckles at the much younger man's blunt comment.

The connection between the two unlikely friends had been built on almost _solely_ sarcastic and teasing exchanges. While the sarcastic nature of their friendship allows Jughead's sardonic nature to shine through and while it makes sure that things never become too soft and soppy between the two men, there is a deep, genuine care between the two men and there is a lot more depth to their friendship and what they have been through than what meets the eye...

While their ages would be far more fitting to resemble a father and son, or even a grandfather and son, there is an equality and respect between Doug and Jughead and Doug. In fact, despite the decades between them, their bond is almost as that of brothers.

"So, do you think you'll ever off your lazy bum and do something about her?"

Jughead glances over his shoulder to look at his older friend who is still leaning against the door-frame.

"Not going to happen, Dougie. Not after what I did. Not after what I did to _her_."

In the moment of silence, Jughead is reminded of the last words that Betty Cooper had ever spoken to him as they echo and ring through his mind so vividly that he's convinced he's hearing it aloud...

" _I didn't want to disappoint you..."_

Betty had trailed off, overcome with sobs as she tried to reach out to him and comfort him, selflessly, when she needed the comfort just as much as he did. Deep down, Jughead knew that she had just been caught in the crossfire that night. But, he was hurting and he was dishing out blame, failing to hold back from throwing it at Betty in the last words that he had ever spoken to her.

" _So, instead you lied? You all lied to me?"_

Jughead takes a deep breath and he swallows, swallowing nothing but his feeble attempts to push down the regrets that he carries of that night and the last words he had said to her, over four years earlier.

After the moments of silence, Doug breaks the quiet, interrupting Jughead's guilt from the past.

"Alright then... Just remember that it's never too late to right your wrongs. Anyway, I'm off to bed. Goodnight Forsythe."

After leaving Riverdale all those years ago, Jughead had started introducing himself as and going by Forsythe. After all, if he wanted to leave his old life behind and start afresh, he figured that there are a lot more ' _Forsythe's_ ' in the world than there are ' _Jughead's_ ' to track down. In fact, he knows for a certainty that there are at least two other ' _Forsythe Pendleton Jones's_ ' out there in the world.

"Night..."

Looking back to the man that has began to move off from his doorway post, Jughead quickly adds to his initial goodnight before the older man has walked to far off.

"Doug? _Thank you."_

Unknowingly and despite the enormous amount of distance between them, Jughead Jones sounds _exactly_ like his father had earlier that very same day when he had thanked Jughead's ex-girlfriend.

His words are just as earnest and sincere as his father's had been, reflecting his gratitude to the man who had done so much for him over the years. However, in his gratitude, the younger Jones man reflects the same type of insecurity as if it could all be snatched away from him at any given time.

You see, both the Jones men know better than taking the things and the people that they love for granted.

Yet, Jughead Jones had done just that with the girl he loved more than anyone and anything else...

* * *

 **So, things are looking quite settled and peaceful for Jughead over in Oklahoma. But, there's quite a bit more to his life and his friendship with Doug than what meets the eye as you'll find out. However, according to Jughead a return to Riverdale isn't going to happen... But, isn't it funny how life works out?**

 **Anyway, hopefully** **you all enjoyed that chapter and enjoyed getting to know Bailey, getting a glimpse into where Jughead is and a little bit of fluff with Bailey and Grandpa FP.**

 **Thank you to Alana Lissens, aussiebornwriter and BugheadEndgame (in answer to your review, it's because he doesn't know where he is either) for reading & reviewing the previous chapter as well as to everyone else who has followed & favourited this story. Thanks for the support!**

 **Next chapter : We take a closer look at the struggles in Betty's life as a single mum to Bailey, while Jughead is unknowingly influenced by bad news.**

 **Don't forget to drop a review and let me know what you thought. I'd love to hear your opinions!**


	5. Carpe Diem

**CHAPTER FIVE – Carpe Diem**

"Good morning, Bailey-girl!" Betty announces brightly as she waltzes into her daughter's bedroom, throwing open her soft pink curtains to brighten the room as daylight instantly streams in.

To Betty's knowledge, most other parents are desperate for their children to stay asleep for as long as possible. Betty, however, knows that her daughter would _easily_ sleep the day away, consequently wanting to party into the night if she'd let her.

The little three-year-old girl groans with total displeasure at her forced wake-up, immediately trying to shield her eyes with her white quilt that is patterned with little pink flowers that are sprawled across the cover.

Much like the father that she has never met, Bailey is _not_ a morning person.

"Mummy..." Bailey grizzles, a rarity for the typically easygoing little girl.

After opening the curtains in Bailey's room, Betty takes a seat on the side of her daughter's bed, reflecting on how grateful she is to have such an easy-going child for the most part. After all, there are really only two instances when little Bailey truly gets grumpy; the first being if she's abruptly woken up or secondly, and even more so, if she's hungry... _Exactly_ like her father. So, appreciating just how easy her daughter makes life for her on the _most_ part from where she's seated beside Bailey's body, Betty shifts the quilt a little from where it's being held over her head, pulling it down just enough to be able to stroke the little girl's golden, blonde locks as she tries to wake her up a little more gently than she had done initially.

"It's time to get up now, baby girl... Carpe diem, seize the day!"

As her little head peeks out from her top of her quilt cover with a little giggle then a yawn, Bailey rubs her eyes, slowly beginning to wake up.

"What does that mean? You talk silly, mummy..."

"It means to make the most of each and every day, Bay. _Because_ , we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow" Betty explains. Throwing out a little Latin to the toddler had been unintentional; it was just a little chant as she started waking up her daughter up a few minutes ago. But, Betty had _still_ given it her best shot to explain the phase to her anyway.

From where she's still sitting on her daughter's bedside, Betty slowly pulls begins to pull the quilt cover down and away from Bailey, gently trying to release her daughter's tight grip on the material. Then, Betty opens her arms out to the little girl, inviting her in, as she continues in her attempts to try and get her daughter out of bed a little more gently.

Drawn to the comfort of her mother's open arms like a magnet, the three-year-old doesn't hesitate to crawl out from under her warm and cosy covers and into Betty's loving arms.

"Good morning my beautiful girl" Betty coos, pressing a kiss to her daughter's wild, golden curls. The slightly shorter locks of hair around Bailey's eyes have just recently began to form more distinctive little curls that frame her face, much like someone else that Betty knows.

"Good morning mummy."

Betty wraps both of her arms around her daughter's body as Bailey melts into her mother's loving touch. The little girl's head is nestled into Betty's shoulder with her hand pressed to Betty's collarbone as she curls up, feeling safe and secure in her mother's nurturing arms.

Betty Cooper is an _incredible_ mother.

She has worked damn hard through trial and error, through good days and bad days, through tears of joy and tears of pain as she has tried her very best to find balance both _in_ and _for_ her daughter's life...

She balances being a fun, playful mum with making sure that discipline and structure are not lacking in Bailey's life. She balances being Bailey's best friend with making sure that she still has the authority of a mother. She balances Bailey's every need, doing everything to make her happy with making sure that her daughter is neither spoilt or expecting.

Betty has tried her hardest to make their family-of-two work and she has done all that she can to ensure that Jughead's absence hasn't just left an unfilled void in Bailey's life. In fact, the little girl has _no idea_ of what she is missing out on without her father in her life.

Betty has done all that she can to give her daughter the very best childhood. She has fostered as many charming traditions, made as many happy memories and done all she can to ensure that Bailey is being raised to enjoy a happy, carefree childhood, despite their situation.

Betty has worked hard to give her daughter a home. Their home might be a very, very small, old and modest two-bedroom home, but their home is a warm and happy place filled with charm and love. Betty has wanted to make their home a place for Bailey to thrive and she has done just _that_.

Betty has done all she can to make sure that her daughter always feels safe and secure. Bailey knows that she has her mother, _always_ , no matter how exhausted or physically, emotionally, mentally drained Betty herself may be.

However, the results of Betty's enormous amount of effort in parenting her daughter as a young, single mother have _undoubtedly_ paid off...

Not only is little Bailey Jones a very well-behaved little girl with the kindest little personality, but she is _happy_. And, the amount of effort that Betty has invested in her daughter has resulted in a close friendship between the mother and daughter who are just as much best friends.

Betty has given her _all_ to making sure that Bailey has a happy, carefree childhood, filled with traditions and memories. She has given her all for Bailey to see and feel the magic and wonder of life, to cling onto that for as long as possible.

After all, Bailey has been the only magic in Betty's life for a long, long time.

Any, feelings of magic and wonder have been replaced with the many nights when Betty has tossed and turned in bed, sick with stress and worry over how she is possibly going to pay her next red-stamped overdue bill... It's been replaced with the many times when she has been standing in line with her groceries, hoping her credit card will be accepted and not declined as she does the food shopping for the week... It's been replaced with the many nights when Betty makes sure that she stifles her own whimpers as she cries herself to sleep, reminded of her heartbreak that she's carried for years after being left by the boy she loved and her situation as a result of that...

But, it hasn't always been that way.

After all, Betty Cooper _used to be_ the young girl who dreamed of castles, lived and breathed fairy-tales and clung onto Prince Charming.

But, Betty was only seventeen when she held a positive pregnancy test in her trembling hands, alone. At that point, she hadn't had many opportunities to visualise children in her future before her one entered her own life. However, in the brief moments that she had thought about the future and when she had thought about having a baby in the distant future, there was always a man by her side; someone to share that journey with. As a child, the man beside her was a certain red-head that she dreamed of sharing the American dream with. Over time, that red hair in her dreams turned jet-black and the man's deep brown eyes turned blue.

However, regardless of _who_ that man by her side was in her dreams and her hopes for one day, there always was a man _there_ by her side when she had visualised the future, a family and children in her life.

But, this is Betty's reality. Just her and Bailey.

After all, life is no fairy-tale...

She had first learnt that the hard way when Archie had rejected her all those years ago, when in a work of fiction it would have been she and Archie -the childhood friends- who were assigned the happily ever after together.

But, this is real life. And, Betty's Prince Charming had been the damaged, broken young boy who left without a trace, without even allowing her to have the opportunity to tell him that he is a father to a beautiful little girl.

However, just because _Betty_ now knows that there is far more to the story, she has remained determined to preserve the magic of life and childhood in her daughter's life. After all, reality comes crashing down all too soon and she wants her daughter to enjoy every precious moment of being young and carefree.

After all, those days of believing in fairy-tales, happy endings and Prince Charming are long gone for Betty Cooper...

#

It's later on that very same day when Jughead finds himself sitting on the bench of the home that Doug shares with him, with a packet of chips in hand.

Jughead _loves_ working from home. He loves being able to roam around as he pleases, working the hours he wishes and avoiding unnecessary contact with co-workers. His work for the local paper only requires him to get his eight hundred words in by five o'clock, on the dot and drop by the office once a week just to check in.

In fact, Jughead had been on his self-appointed break when he hears the front door open and then close again seconds later. At the first sign of his housemate arriving home, he quickly slides off of the bench-top, trying to save himself a lecture, knowing that Doug _hates_ him sitting up there.

"How'd you go? What'd the doctor say?" he asks conversationally as the man in his late-sixties enters the room, neatly putting his keys by the fruit bowl that Jughead could swear he has never so much as even _touched_ before.

Jughead knows that his housemate had an appointment with his doctor this morning, a follow up appointment to receive the results of his blood tests that had been taken during his routine check up earlier that week. Jughead knows that he had the appointment booked in for this morning and not just from judging the amount of slamming and grumbling that he heard when the older man had been getting ready this morning.

"Everything's just _fine_ " Doug replies, equally as gruff as he is succinct.

Jughead's quick to pick up on the fact that apparently just because Doug's _appointment_ is over with, apparently his grumpy mood _isn't_.

However, the younger of the two does not consider the fact that when an older person says the word 'fine' in regards to their health, it means they are anything _but_. You see, when people reach a certain age and when they feel good or just even something _close_ to it, they appreciate how rare that feeling is. They appreciate how rare it is be able to say that they are having a good day and to actually _mean_ _it,_ they appreciate how rare it is to enjoy a moment without their back hurting and they appreciate feeling well enough to be able to ignore the aches and pains. 'Fine', on the other hand, is an avoidance of the truth, _always_.

"But, never mind _me_. I've got something for _you_."

As he rustles with his handful of papers, Doug hands Jughead a long, thin slip of paper; a bus ticket. Jughead's expression of confusion on his face only changes to a frown as he looks down to the ticket and sees the destination, looking back up to the older man with a frown as he fills in the blanks.

"It's a bus ticket. Tomorrow you're getting on a bus and you're going back to where you came from."

Immediately and without a second thought, Jughead hands the ticket back. "No. Go get your money back, Doug. I'm **not** going back to Riverdale."

"It's a non-refundable ticket, I'm sorry. But, look, I _know_ that you look at that photo of the pretty blonde girl every, damn day. Now, tomorrow, you're going to find her and right those wrongs that are eating you up. Or, in the very least, you are going to _try_. One way or the other, you're going to make peace with your past."

With a tightly knitted frown on his eyebrows, Jughead attempts to poke holes in Doug's proposal, trying to find legitimate reasons to stop himself from having to go along with it, skating around the truth of the matter.

"Even if I _did_ go back to Riverdale, there's no way in the world that she's still stuck there in that little old town. She's _incredible_. She was destined for greatness, Doug. There's no way that she's not off conquering the world in one or another... Besides, I'm sure she's met a great guy by now, the type of boyfriend who _doesn't_ just up and leave her without even saying goodbye."

"All the more reason you have to at least try then! The longer that you leave it, the more excuses are going to continue to build up. But, your regret won't just dissolve and disappear. I _know_ that you have some loose ends that need tying up, young man... You're far too young to carry regrets as big as this, Forsythe."

Doug is going passionate and animated, throwing his arms around in the air as he tries to convey his message. Meanwhile, Jughead simply sighs, realising that talking him out of it is going to be harder than he thought. So, instead he turns to the truth that he's avoiding to try and change tactic to get himself out of it.

"Look, I have no right to go back there, Doug. The pretty blonde girl? Yeah. I loved her. But, I ran off one night and I left her. I didn't tell her where I was or where I was going. I didn't even say goodbye... Not to her, not to my friends, _no one_. I have no right to go back there and jut show up again after all these years and after I left the way that I did."

"It doesn't matter what you did... All that matters it that you have _time_ , Forsythe. _That's_ all you need."

Failing to succumb, Jughead instead pushes his suspenders to the side as he tries to pull his wallet out of the back pocket of his pants.

"What are you doing?"

"You said it's a non-refundable ticket. I'm giving you a refund."

"It's not _about_ the money, Forsythe" Doug says in a low growl. "You're taking the ticket. I don't care how long you stay for, but tomorrow you're getting on that bus and you're facing your demons."

As Doug begins to walk off, marking the end of his conversation with Jughead, he doesn't explain the _real_ reason behind why he has given the much-younger man a sudden, big push in the right direction...

He doesn't say a single word about reason behind his sudden epiphany, the reason why he had booked the younger man a ticket back to his hometown. He doesn't mention the fact that Doug has been forced to realise just how easy it is to get caught up in day-to-day life and to forget just how short life really is...

After all, now that's a fact that Doug cannot ignore with a new, looming, sentence hanging over his head.

You see, by " _everything's just fine_ " Doug had really meant the very opposite.

Just an hour earlier his doctor had diagnosed him with cancer. Just an hour earlier he had received the grim diagnosis, being given no hope and nowhere near enough time. Even if he _had_ been given more than just a a few short months, it still would never be enough...

However, before he walks any further away from Jughead and further into the house, Doug pauses on the spot, knowing full-well that he is still in earshot of the younger man as he gives him one final piece of advice, much like a certain mother had given to her daughter on that very same day.

"Carpe diem, kid... Seize the day. Life is too damn short to do anything other than that."

* * *

 **So poor Betty is doing well at doing the best that she can for Bailey, but on the inside she's not so okay being stuck on struggle street. And not only does poor Jughead have no clue about his daughter's existence but now he has no idea that his housemate's dying, too. But, will Doug's epiphany be just what he needs to get him back to Riverdale?**

 **I have been overwhelmed by the response to this story so far, thank you! It has most definitely been encouraging me to keep writing. Shout out to KisekiNoSekai, Guest (x2!), Alana Lissens, aussiebornwriter and kaylahhallllll for dropping reviews!**

 **Next chapter: Jughead comes up in conversation between Betty and Bailey. We see where Archie and Veronica are at, four years on. And, will Jughead relent and get on the bus?**

 **I absolutely love the feedback and I'd love to know what you all thought of this one, too.**


	6. Baby Blue Eyes

**CHAPTER SIX – Baby Blue Eyes**

Jughead had initially knocked back Doug's bus ticket and completely shut down Doug's suggestion for him to return to Riverdale.

Yet, just one day later, the beanie-clad young man finds himself standing and waiting by the bus stop with his older companion by his side.

He doesn't understand the reason behind Doug's sudden gesture to make him return to Riverdale. But, Jughead does sense an urgency, an importance, that goes far beyond his knowledge. After all, Jughead _knows_ how little Doug asks of him and at the end of the day, he owes Doug far more than he can ever repay to him. So, if it'll make Doug _that_ happy for him to travel those hundreds of miles and spend a few, miserable days in his hometown, then so be it. He'll be back before he knows.

That's why after a very masculine, parting man-hug with the older man, Jughead slowly making progress towards embarking on the bus that will take him right back to the very place that he had run _from_ a little over four years ago.

"I hope you find what you're looking for to get the closure that you need, Forsythe."

Jughead nods in acknowledgment, taking a few steps closer to the waiting bus, before freezing on the spot and turning to look back at the older man.

"Betty... The pretty blonde girl in the photo, that's her name. _Betty_."

Doug smiles. It's progress.

After all, the older man has been familiar with the single photo of the pretty blonde girl for almost as long as he has known Jughead. Yet, in all those years, Jughead has never mentioned a single thing or offered a single detail about it or her, or the reason why he looks at the photo of her far more frequently than he would ever admit to.

"Well, I hope you find _Betty_ , then."

#

Getting ready that morning, Betty is standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. Bailey is standing on a step-stool directly beside her, following her mother's actions intently. It's only been over the last few weeks when brushing her teeth has become a task which Bailey insists on doing independently for herself.

On one hand, Betty appreciates her daughter wanting to do more and more herself, making the girl's morning routine that bit faster. But, at the same time, she can't ignore the pang of bitter at the bittersweet reminder that her daughter is slowly growing up and gradually needing her with less.

As Betty flushes out her own mouthwash, concluding her dental routine for the morning, she looks over to her daughter's reflection in the mirror from where she stands by her side. Watching as Bailey diligently brushes and thoroughly scrubs her teeth with 110% effort, Betty can't hide her smile at the little girl who she doesn't think it's possible to love more than she already does.

"Good work, baby. You're brushing your teeth very well."

Even with a toothbrush shoved into her little mouth, Bailey manages to smile a smile that radiates through her eyes, too. She is _so_ proud to receive the commendation from her mother.

Moments later and after a good, few minutes of brushing her teeth, Bailey gets rid of the remnants of toothpaste in her mouth. Then, with some help from Betty to turn the tap on, she rinses her own mouth out, too.

"You know, your eyes look _so_ beautiful and blue today, Bailey-girl."

Another proud beam spreads across Bailey's lips, until it is quickly replaced with a little frown as her eyebrows furrow seriously. The little girl looks at her mother intently, quickly glancing over to the mirror before her gaze returns to Betty.

"Bailey's eyes are _blue_ , but mummy's eyes are _green_... Why different?"

Betty panics on the spot. She's momentarily stunned as she struggles to determine _what_ to say in answer to her daughter's question. However, she is quick to decide on telling the truth.

"That's because you've got your daddy's beautiful, blue eyes, Bailey" Betty explains honestly as she exhales an unintentionally sad sigh, tucking a loose lock of Bailey's hair behind her ear.

"Daddy's blue eyes..." the little girl repeats, as if making sense of her mother's answer before her face scrunches up into another little frown, raising another question.

"Where is Bailey's daddy?"

So far, the 'dad thing' has only ever come up very briefly two times before when Bailey has confirmed " _Does Bailey have a daddy, too?_ ". Once was when Betty was reading her a bedtime story and then another time it came up during a viewing of ' _The Lion King'_. Both times, Betty has taken the view of honesty being the best policy and that has been her approach so far, wanting to create an honest and open relationship with her daughter.

 _Sure_ , Betty isn't about to tell her three-year-old that her father left them before she was born and that he has never so much as touched her. But, if Bailey has questions, Betty has decided she will answer them. After all, she knows from her parents experience that lies quickly blow beyond proportion and out of control. Hiding the truth will only make it harder when the truth comes out. So, Betty has endeavored to be as honest as possible to her own child. Then, with any truths that she doesn't think that her daughter is quite ready to hear just yet, she just excuses the question with an: " _I **promise** that I'll tell you why one day..._"

So, in answer to her daughter's latest question, Betty lowers herself a little, exhaling another sigh as she looks squarely into her daughter's baby blue eyes.

"I don't know, Bailey. I really don't know..."

As if sensing her mother's sadness, Bailey reaches up and presses a little hand to her mother's cheek comfortingly. Smiling at her daughter's touch and affectionate gesture, Betty's somber expression is replaced with a smile as she returns to her normal height, but not before the young mother gives her daughter's nose a quick touch that elicits a little giggle, along with pressing a kiss to Bailey's golden locks.

"But, no matter what, mummy's here for you, Bailey-girl. Always, always, _always_..."

#

Betty and Bailey had arranged to meet up with Archie and Veronica at _Pop's_ for brunch.

In his final year of high school, reality and the real world began to step in for Archie. He had more than enough on his plate when he decided to change to studying externally, in his spare time, in order to avail himself to take over his father's company, _Andrews Construction_ , following Fred's death.

As for Veronica, after leaving high school she had struck gold online, consequently making the most of the big-wide-world from her base in Riverdale. She had founded an online store which worked in conjunction with a blog that showcased the high-end lifestyle, from a how-you-can-achieve-it approach. She had struck gold and consequently managed to become quite the girl-boss all from Riverdale.

As for the two of them, after a steady routine of being on-again, off-again throughout high school and then for a year after graduation, eventually something changed making Veronica and Archie a stronger, more solid couple and they hadn't looked back since. In fact, after a year of being solid, Archie had popped the question to Veronica, leading to a very big, very lavish wedding just six months ago.

Meanwhile, Betty's time had been more than filled with focusing on being a single mother to Bailey, balancing that with struggling to provide for herself and her daughter.

Consequently, the meet-ups at _Pop's_ were few and far between, but the three still tried to cling to the tradition, the milkshakes and the catch-ups that reminded them all of a far simpler, purer time of their life, just like the olden days...

When the blonde mother and daughter duo finally arrive and enter _Pop's_ , Bailey races ahead of Betty when she spots Archie and Veronica who are already seated at a booth, waiting for the girls.

"Hi! We're here!" Bailey exclaims to catch their attention. Instantly, she throws her arms around her aunt and then her uncle in a friendly hug while the pair dote over the little girl's arrival.

"Uncle Archie, can I please sit on your lap?"

At Bailey's request, Veronica's lips purse into a pout as she hands the three-year-old who has climbed onto her lap over to her husband, sending him a glare to go along with it.

Vying for Bailey's affections has always made for a bit of competition between Archie and Veronica, almost since the day she was born. Overall, Veronica puts much more time and effort into trying to win over Bailey (Betty is _constantly_ trying to stop Veronica from spoiling her rotten), but the little girl just absolutely _adores_ her uncle.

"Well that's fine... You can sit on Uncle Archie, but Aunty V will buy you whatever drink you feel like. What would you like, Bay? You too, B. Drinks on me. And just a banana milkshake for you, Archiekins?"

Betty orders her usual vanilla milkshake, thanking her friend profusely as her daughter politely asks for a banana milkshake, too, _just like Archie_. However, as the little girl looks up to the red-head with a smile, it's no coincidence that she and her uncle are getting the exact same beverage. Even Veronica sets her competitiveness to the side as she and Betty chuckle to one another at witnessing Bailey trying to copy Archie.

"Alright then, four drinks coming right up. Don't talk about anything juicy without me!"

As Archie's wife leaves him alone with Betty and her daughter, he turns his attention away from Bailey who he had been tickling on his lap, looking over to her mother as he asks her a question that has been on his mind.

"I've been meaning to ask you a couple of times recently, but has Bailey been to the doctor lately? How's she doing? How long has it been since her operation now?"

"She's really good. It's just gone eighteen months since her op. She had it not long after she turned two. Since then, she's had about four doctor's appointments and follow ups and they've all said that the operation had been very successful."

With a glad smile, Archie looks down to the little girl -the subject of the conversation- from where she's sitting on his lap before he returns his gaze to her mother. He couldn't _bear_ to hear any other alternative than what Betty has just told him.

"That's good... I'm so glad to hear it."

Their conversation is interrupted as Veronica returns to the booth, having just ordered and paid for the round of drinks for the table.

"Thanks Aunty 'Ronica" Bailey smiles sweetly to her aunty, leaning over from her spot on Archie's lap to give her a hug.

As the raven-haired girl returns the three-year-olds hug, Veronica clutches at her heart in awe as they pull away from each other.

"Oh my ovaries... Because you made the cutest little thing in the planet, B, I blame you for absolutely every slither of cluckiness in me" Veronica announces.

Betty chuckles, smiling proudly as she glances over to her daughter who has made herself quite comfortable in Archie's lap. Sure, _she_ knows that she has the cutest, sweetest daughter in the world, but Betty welcomes anyone else who shares her own biased view.

A few minutes after Veronica returns from ordering, the milkshakes are brought over. Then, after another few minutes of sitting there patiently on Archie's lap as she listens to the adults talk, Betty hands her daughter her phone across the table. Betty usually expects Bailey to sit there and either listen to or join in on the discussion for the first few minutes when they are about and about with company. But then after no more than fifteen minutes, she is happy to pass her phone over to her little girl and allow her to play on it, understanding that adult company isn't all that great for a toddler.

"So what's new with you two anyway?" Veronica questions as she stirs her double choc milkshake with its straw, her sparkling engagement ring catching the light in every direction from where it's nestled comfortably on her finger, beside her wedding band.

"Well..." Betty begins before trailing off. She looks over to her daughter and then down to the table as she traces shapes on it with her forefinger, avoiding her friend's curious looks. " _Someone_ was asking about their daddy this morning..."

Two pairs of eyes in varying shades of brown look over to Betty, stunned.

"Oh wow..." Veronica says in a low whisper, posing a question as though the little girl that she's inquiring about _isn't_ present. "What was she asking?"

"We were talking about her eyes" Betty begins, glancing over to her occupied daughter once again, continuing to explain. "She wanted to know where she got her beautiful blue eyes from..."

Suddenly, the three adults who weren't aware that the three-year-old is most definitely tuned in and listening are taken by surprise as she adds to the conversation.

"Daddy's blue eyes" Bailey adds, matter of fact, repeating the fact that she had learnt earlier that morning as Veronica and Archie look to Betty, gawking.

"That's right, baby" Betty replies simply, exhaling a bittersweet sigh at her daughter's comment. "You have got daddy's blue eyes."

While Bailey returns to her game on Betty's phone, Veronica and Archie stare at Betty on the other side of the booth in disbelief.

Eventually, breaking through his surprise, Archie glances down to Bailey who is still contently sitting on him, before then looking back up to her mother.

"She really is so much like him..." Archie notes. _He_ would know. After all, the little girl sitting on his lap is a hybrid of his two best friends. He can pinpoint exactly which hairstyles make Bailey look more like the little girl he grew up with. Then, just as easily, he can tell which of Bailey's expressions are just a junior version of his best mates'.

While the little girl has always had a fairly equal balance of both her parents, the older that she gets, the harder it is to ignore her absent father who she only resembles more and more. While her personality is all Betty, the little girl is growing up to be just a little, blonde, female version of her father.

" _I know_."

Betty sighs at Archie's comment, knowing the truth of it as she watches her daughter on the other side of the table, seeing _exactly_ how much she is like the man that she knew better than anyone, the man that she had loved, the man that had left her all those years ago...

#

Later that day, after the newlyweds had returned from having milkshakes at _Pop's_ and several hours after they had arrived at their home -which had been Archie's childhood home- is when the lovebirds are interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Can you get that?" Veronica groans.

After hearing the knock, the raven-haired young woman only squirms further and deeper into the lounge suite that she and Archie had crashed on after arriving home, now a well-tangled knot of limbs as they cuddle together.

"You'll owe me..." Archie retorts, getting up begrudgingly, thinking to himself that whoever's knocking at their door had better have a damned good reason.

"Don't worry, Archiekins. You _know_ I'll repay the favour later" Veronica chimes sweetly to her husband, leaving him chuckling to himself with a little head shake as he heads for the door, laying his hand on the big, gold door handle.

As Archie Andrews swings open the front door of his childhood home, he is not prepared in the _slightest_ for the sight of the man who is standing before him, on the other side of the door, after four, whole _years_...

Archie can't believe his eyes, opening the door to a beholder of the very same shade of baby blue eyes as the little girl that had been sitting on his lap in a booth at _Pop's_ just mere hours earlier. Consequently, he just stands there, gawking, at the sight before him.

"Well, if it isn't Riverdale's very own Mr. Troy Bolton..."

The sarcastic comment is all a cover and a mask to disguise the world of nervousness and insecurity of the man who has just said it.

However, just as quickly as the front door of the Andrews residence is opened, it is slammed shut in Jughead's face once again.

* * *

 **So, Bailey's been raising questions about Jughead. Do you think Betty went the right way about handling her questions? I hope you enjoyed the little snippets of Veronica & Archie, too. They'll be featured a little more in the next chapter, too. And, he got on the bus! I hope you'll enjoy the way that Jughead's visit to Riverdale will unfold from here...**

 **Also, thank you so much to erp8611, Alana Lissens and KisekiNoSekai who read and reviewed the last chapter. The feedback has really inspired me to get this story up and running and it's been the reason for multiple chapters a week. So, thank you! I hope you all continue to enjoy it!**

 **Next chapter: Betty's world is turned upside down when she learns that Jughead's back in town.**


	7. Her

**CHAPTER SEVEN – Her**

Hearing the front door of their home open and then close again almost instantly stands out as peculiar to Veronica, knowing that her husband had left her side on the lounge to answer the door just moments ago. So, getting up to see for herself, she begrudgingly pulls herself from the comfortable mold of cushions that had formed around her, following in the footsteps that her husband had set barely a minute earlier.

"Who was it, babe?" Veronica asks, a frown forming on her features as she walks through the hallway, instantly spotting her husband.

After the shock of seeing who is on the other side of the door, Archie had slammed it shut in Jughead's face, standing with his back pressed against the wall beside the front door, too shocked to move.

"Go and see for yourself..."

Veronica doesn't falter for a moment after her husband's remark. Within seconds, her tanned hand is wrapped around the door handle, swinging the door open to catch sight of the beanie-clad man she hadn't seen in over four years, doing the very same thing as the last time she had seen him... _Leaving_.

"Jughead?" Veronica chokes at the sight of the familiar silhouette bearing a beanie. "If you _dare_ think about leaving like just like that..."

The raven-haired man stops in his tracks, turning to look back. Veronica's right. After the way he left last time, he owes it to his friends not to do the exact same thing.

There is a good few metres between where Jughead is standing halfway across the yard of the Andrew's place -his head down to the ground- and where Veronica is standing at the front door, her arms crossed in front of her, unhappily.

Then, the fiery Latina stomps across the yard as she torpedoes herself over to the father of her best friend's child. Without so much as _flinching_ , the palm of her hand meets the side of Jughead's face with a thunder-clap of a slap that leaves his cheek a flushed pink colour.

" _That's_ for what you did."

Jughead simply nods in silence as he lets the sting make her point. He knows that he deserves that and so much for leaving Betty - _and_ Archie- the way that he did.

Then as Veronica returns to the front door she is joined by her husband who seems to have managed to have bounced back enough from his shock. He has since approached the front door, now standing where his wife had been just moments ago as Archie bellows out to his old friend across the yard.

"Come in, Jug. At least come in for a hot drink."

Despite the hurt, despite the anger and despite the fury on behalf of himself and his other best friend, Archie can't help but feel relieved at the sight of Jughead after all these years.

#

One of the first things that Archie tells Jughead about as they make their way inside is how his father had been fatally shot at _Pop's_ just weeks after he left.

Jughead can't believe it. He knew that Riverdale hadn't been the same after Jason Blossom's murder, but the impact of his death, while felt, had always somewhat been at arms length. They _knew_ Jason, they _saw_ Cheryl's pain and Polly's loss but in many ways, it was always from a distance. But Fred? In many ways, that man had been more of a father to Jughead than his own had, especially in the months before Jughead left.

So, hearing not only of his best friend's loss, but also _feeling_ the impact of Fred's death for himself shakes Jughead. He can't apologise profusely enough for Archie's loss and the fact that he not only was he not there to support his friend after losing his father, but also for the fact that he never had the chance to pay his respects to the man.

Then, after saying all the words to Archie that don't feel like nearly enough, the two boys fall to silence. There is so much more that needs to be said, but both of them struggle to find the words to say it.

A little while later, Veronica walks over to the old friends who are sitting at the dining table of Archie's childhood home, carrying two mugs full of hot coffee. The two boys are _still_ sitting in the same silence as when she had first left them several minutes earlier to make the hot drinks. So, after distributing both mugs to the boys before returning from the kitchen with her own, Veronica takes a seat beside her husband at the table of their home, looking intently over to their visitor with a bitter glare.

"So, what could _possibly_ be a good enough reason for leaving the way you did?"

Jughead's face contorts to a frown. But, deep down, he knows that Veronica is right to be blunt. After all, his guilt is the reason why he stays silent in response to her question that goes unanswered.

Veronica's question prompts an even more intense silence as Archie shoots his wife a look, before attempting to dilute her question. Jughead _would_ answer for what he did all those years ago -no doubt- but, scaring him off before then is _not_ the way to go about it.

"Where did you go?" Archie begins, asking the gentler question in little more than a whisper.

Although he might be _glad_ to see Jughead, Archie is still frosty and cold towards him. Everything isn't going to just bounce back to normal simply from his presence and _nothing_ will change the four years that he had missed out on...

"Oklahoma."

Archie nods at Jughead's short and sweet answer, glancing over to his old friend before his eyes look down to the table. Archie is visibly a little uncomfortably as he prepares to ask the next question.

"Are you, like, alright?"

Archie's poorly executed sentence reveals far more in the four words than what you would realise. Firstly, it shows just _how_ uncomfortable the red-head feels from making small-talk with one of his oldest friends for the first time in four years. But, it also shows how despite the air of awkwardness, Archie perseveres with the feeling in order to check that Jughead is okay, something of great importance to him.

"I'm fine. _Thanks_. Yourselves?" Jughead pauses, gesturing to the matching, gold wedding bands on the left fingers of Veronica and Archie's left hands. "I see that I should have brought a cheesy Hallmark card along with me. Congratulations... How long have you been married?"

In response to Jughead's congratulations, Veronica's silent, steely glare softens for only just a moment before bouncing back. Meanwhile, Archie glances over to his wife and then back to his friend with a small smile.

"Thanks man. We hit six months earlier this month. We would have invited you, but..." Archie replies, trailing off unconfident at how he could put into words the fact that _he_ had left and they had no way of contacting him for the last four years.

Jughead senses this and just nods in understanding.

"I get it. I'm really sorry that I wasn't there... Do you have any pictures?"

Archie quickly shoots Jughead a nod before getting up from his seat at the dining table to fetch a framed wedding photo that's on display in the living room. Veronica knows _exactly_ which photo her husband is about to grab -it's the one he always shows off to people- and she can feel her heart begin to race... She _knows_ that the photo that Archie is going to get is one of the group shots; featuring her parents, his mother, their bridal party -consisting of Betty and Kevin- _and_ their little flower girl...

"No, not that one, babe. I hate the angle of that one. I look about four sizes larger than I am" Veronica quickly remarks, springing to action. Her command results in Archie stopping in his tracks, giving her a curious look. He knows as well as she does that _that_ photo had been the one photo out of the millions that were taken on their wedding day which they both could agree on loving.

Instead, Veronica quickly whips her phone out from her pocket, scrolling through her photos to find one solely of themselves, along with Archie's best man and Veronica's maid of honour, before handing her phone to Jughead.

For the briefest moment Jughead actually looks at the _couple_ in their wedding photo, but for the remainder of the time, he can't take his eyes off of the beautiful blonde in the figure-hugging cobalt blue dress.

Laying his eyes on the recent photo of his ex-girlfriend, Jughead swallows deeply and he can feel the guilt that is lodged in the pit of his stomach.

She is _beautiful_... She's radiant, she's glowing and she's perhaps even more beauteous than she had been four years ago, if that's even possible. However, despite the smile on her face, Jughead can see a deep sadness in her eyes that only he had become trained in recognising and identifying.

As much as Jughead _wants_ to know about Betty, he struggles with bringing himself to ask the question. However, Jughead knows that he has to. Doug would have his head if he had made the whole trip to Riverdale –funded by his bus ticket- and yet dodged the entire purpose for his trip. So, he takes a deep breath and he jumps.

"How is she?"

Neither Archie nor Veronica need to clarify who the 'she' in question is. However, they do have to share a silent glance as to _how_ they are going to tackle his question.

"She's doing as well as can be expected" Veronica replies simply, her answer calculated.

Jughead just nods, looking back down to the photo on Veronica's phone with a sigh.

"Where is she now? Working for _The New York Times_? Helping orphans in Namibia? Off solving the biggest unsolved cold cases in the country?"

"Unlike some people, _she_ never left."

"What?" Jughead chokes.

Of all the potentials and possibilities that he had thought were open and possible to Betty Cooper, he _never_ for a secnd thought that staying in the small town would be the answer that he'd be given to his own question.

However, he doesn't wait for an explanation as both Veronica and Archie panic as to what to tell him about _why_ she never left. After all, the right to tell Jughead about his daughter's existence belongs to Betty and neither of them are about to ruin that. So, they are thankful when Jughead doesn't wait for an explanation. In fact, almost instantly after hearing that she's still in town and that she has never left, Jughead is asking them the next question.

"Can you please tell her something for me? Look, I understand if she never even wants to hear my name again, but could you please tell her that I would like to see her, that I'd like to talk her, only if _she_ wants to see _me_..."

#

Later that night, Bailey is clean, freshly-bathed and dressed in her favourite pair of _Moana_ pyjamas. She's already been tucked into bed as she and her mother make their way through the little girl's night-time routine. Betty is currently reading the second story for the night in her daughter's room, by the illumination of the dimly-lit lamp that sits in the corner of Bailey's room.

As she reads the words of the children's picture book, ' _Pig the Pug'_ , Betty pauses from the story to listen to Bailey muse about the fact that " _the doggies in the book look very, very different to Hot Doggie_ " when the mother and daughter are interrupted by a loud knock at the front door.

Wearing two very similar expressions, the young mother and daughter look to each other in confusion at the interruption, wondering _who_ could be visiting them at this time of night.

After just a moment, Betty hands her daughter the book, presses a kiss to her golden curls and shifts away from the three-year-old as she climbs off the bed that she had been laying on beside her.

"Mummy will be right back, Bailey-girl. You can keep reading if you like" Betty encourages warmly, acting as though she isn't just as confused as Bailey is about their visitor as she leaves her daughters bedroom, tightens her dressing gown that are covering her own pyjamas and makes her way straight to the front door.

Swinging the door open, she is instantly met by the presence of her two best friends, standing there looking apprehensive and nervous on the other side of the door before Archie quickly speaks up.

"Sorry for disrupting you, Betty. Is Bailey asleep?"

Betty shakes her head, stepping aside from the front door in order to let her two friends into her home.

"No... I was just reading to her then. Why? What's wrong? Has something happened?"

Watching as the newlyweds exchange a look of graven seriousness, Betty heart pounds. As she waits in silence, a frown spreads across her face, looking back and forth between the two, looking for some clue as to why they are visiting her so late at night and why they both look so filled with trepidation. Watching the expressions on her friends faces, Betty _knows_ that they have something to tell her; _something_ that they are finding hard to tell her.

Deep down, a part of Betty -an instinct of some sort _-_ _knows_ that whatever her best friend's are on her doorstep to tell her has _something_ to do with him...

Veronica is the first to crack as she watches her blonde best friend intently, out of concern, as she utters the words that Betty is waiting to hear.

"It's Jughead... He's back."

Betty's mouth flies open, dropping to the ground as she tries to recover from the bombshell that her ex-boyfriend, the man who had broken her heart so badly four years ago and the father of her child, is back in town. She's barely had a chance to blink in shock when Archie speaks up.

"He wants to see you, Betty."

* * *

 **I hope you liked this chapter, including a bit more Archie and Veronica once again. Also, a lot of people were asking about Bailey's operation that Archie alluded to in the last chapter. More about that will be revealed later on in the story.**

 **Thank you so much to BiffyClyro, Alana Lissens, Pinksparklyunicorn, AlesiaJ89, Totallynerdy, aussiebornwriter, KisekiNoSekai, debo bertie, notabanalgirl and IHeartFinchelAndBughead for leaving a review on the last chapter! The feedback on this story is blowing me away and I hope you all continue to enjoy it!**

 **Next chapter: How will Betty react after hearing about Jughead's return? Will she agree to meet with him? Will she tell him about Bailey? Also, Jughead pays his father a visit.**


	8. Mothers & Daughters, Fathers & Sons

**CHAPTER EIGHT – Mothers & Daughters, Fathers & Sons**

Betty's not too sure of exactly how long it takes her to regain her composure and respond after her world is turned upside down by the bombshell that Archie has just dropped on her. However, she _does_ have a feeling that she has been standing there, silently, for quite some time when she takes a series of big, deep breaths, in a feeble attempt to at least try and control her breathing.

However, Betty's anxiety doesn't stop there. She can tell that her vision is growing noticeably cloudier and she can feel the pricking tears that linger, threatening her eyes. Her stomach feels weak as it churns from deep within her, reminding her of the waves of nausea that she'd experienced in her pregnancy several years ago. Ironically, both senses, however different, had been induced by the same man.

Over three years ago, holding her newborn daughter in her arms, Betty had tried to make peace with and face the fact that Jughead Jones was _gone_. She knew that she had to at least _try_ and move on and move past his disappearance or else it would eat her alive. And, their daughter _needed_ her one and only parent in her life.

So, for Betty, so many years on, hearing that Jughead is back just turns her whole, entire world upside down, all over again...

Despite the world of questions that she has as she struggles to even get in control of her own thoughts, Betty _needs_ to ask the main question that is at the forefront of her mind; the question that no matter what he had done to her and no matter how badly he had broken her heart, the question she can't bear **not** knowing the answer to.

"Is he alright?"

Veronica just nods a little, knowing her shaken friend well enough to know that she's wanting to check that he seemed both healthy and out of trouble.

"He seemed fine."

Betty exhales a breath that she didn't even know that she had been holding in before going back to the drawing board with trying to process the news that she is struggling with, to put it lightly.

"How long is he here for? Is he back for good?" Betty questions, asking the next question that had taken her another few minutes to scrounge up.

Once again, Veronica is the first to respond, shaking her head at her friend.

"He said that he's only here for three days, but that he'd like to see you while he's here. _If_ you want to see him..."

Betty tightens her dressing grown around her waist as she throws her arms around stomach, holding herself. It's now when she can feel the familiar sensation that she hasn't felt in quite a while as her hands clench into fists and her nails drive into skin...

Despite the world of stress that Betty has been stuck in over the last four years, for the most part she had managed to get in control of her self-harmful tendencies, finding healthier outlets and ways to manage her feelings. After all, she would have no skin on her palms left if she hadn't. So, over the years, there have only been a number of times when she's been driven to this point, unable to resist the urge as her nails dig into her palms far too easily, as though slicing through butter, rather than flesh.

Then, after her nails have driven into her palms as she grapples with her world being turned upside down, Betty snaps, decisively.

"I don't want to see him. _He_ made a decision and I've spent the last four years dealing with the consequences of that decision."

Betty's voice is rough and gravelly as she struggles to speak, feeling out of breath without having taken a single step.

In response to Betty's decision, Archie's face scrunches up and he throws his hand out in protest.

"But Ba-"

Archie's debate is short-lived as he's cut off and silenced by his wife. But, Betty _knows_ that Archie was going to ask her about Bailey; as if Betty could have somehow managed to _forget_ that the father of her child doesn't know about their little girl.

"It's up to you, B. The choice is yours, but whatever you decide, we'll support you."

Holding her arms around herself as tightly as she can, tears fill Betty's eyes, her fury turning to heartbreak.

She doesn't think she _could_ see him. Not after he left her and not after being abandoned by him for four years.

After all, _he_ was the one in control for so long...

She didn't _want_ to be a single mother to their daughter.

She didn't _want_ to Bailey to have to grow up without a father.

But, Betty had no choice in those matters. She had tried her best to find Jughead or in the very least, contact him. But, after months of being unsuccessful, Betty had to let it go, adapt to her circumstances and live with the choices that Jughead had made for her.

"No. _He_ left Riverdale. He left _me_... And, he might not know it, but he left _her_. He can't just walk in and out of my life as he pleases. And, I can't tell him about Bailey if that's what he expects that he can do. She's better off with no father at all than an unreliable one."

#

After Betty made her decision, Veronica and Archie promptly left.

Then, after wiping her eyes dry and taking a big, deep breath to try to compose herself, Betty trails back into her daughter's room, desperately hoping that Bailey had been settled enough to fall asleep on her own. The young mother doesn't know if she can get through reading Bailey another story and she can't even _imagine_ the strength she'd need to muster up to sing her the song that she asks for every night.

"You're still awake, baby" Betty states obviously at the fact that her daughter is still sitting up in the dimly lit room, reading, as she stands in the doorway of her room. Bailey's moved onto the next book, trying to pick up on the story through its pictures.

"Yeah, I can't sleep, mummy. Who visiting us?"

Moving across the small room to reach Bailey's bed, Betty lies back down beside her daughter as she had been before the visit from her friends, as she gently takes the book from Bailey's hands and places it on the bedside table of the little girl's bed, indicating that it's time to start trying to sleep.

"It was just Aunty Veronica and Uncle Archie, sweetie. Don't worry."

Bailey gives her mother some sort of little nod of acknowledgement before releasing a big yawn, nestling into Betty's comforting body from where she has joined her on her bed.

Betty runs her hand back and forth to stroke her daughter's golden curls therapeutically, relaxing herself as much as she is soothing Bailey. Then, after a few minutes of silence, Betty speaks up.

"Bailey? Are you happy, sweetie?"

Having had her world turned upside down this evening after being faced with an enormous decision thanks to Jughead's return, Betty grapples to find her way back to the surface after being dunked in waves of shock. However, taking stock, Betty realises that her daughter's answer to the question is what is more important to her than anything else in the world.

The little girl looks up to her mother with two, big, bright blue eyes and a smile that answers Betty's question.

"Bailey's happy. You happy, mummy?" the little girl asks her mother, genuinely. For her age, she is extremely caring and interested in others feelings.

"I'm always happy with my Bailey-girl."

It's the truth. Despite Betty's daily struggles and despite the course that her life has taken, it is all for Bailey and it is all worth it knowing that it's for that little girl who not only _means_ the world to Betty, but _is_ Betty's world now. Bailey's happiness is more important than her own.

Betty's answer to Bailey's question prompts a little giggle from the little girl, creating a proud smile. As much as Bailey's happiness brings an immense contentment to Betty, seeing the familiar smile on her daughter's lips that is so, completely her father's hurts Betty's heart, all at the same time.

#

After his first night in town, Jughead decides to spend the day that is both his second and second-to-last day in Riverdale visiting his father. He hasn't seen him since being dropped off with Betty at Riverdale High School's homecoming, on the night of his fathers arrest.

"My boy!" FP exclaims, throwing the screen-door of his trailer open at the sight of his one-and-only son.

Not only is the affection in FP Jones's voice more than Jughead has heard from his father in four years, but it's more affection than he has heard from his father just about _ever_. And that's _before_ the older man throws his arms around his son in a man-hug. Becoming a grandfather has turned him soft.

After the initial greetings are exchanged, FP is just about to invite his prodigal son into his trailer home when he realises that his home is a minefield. It is absolutely _riddled_ with indicators of Jughead's own daughter; ranging from the little girls dolls and toys, the pictures of Bailey on his fridge or in frames and the pictures and paintings that she has made for him.

FP doesn't know if Jughead has seen Betty yet and he doesn't know if Betty has had an opportunity to tell him of their daughter's existence. But, what FP _does_ know is that Jughead should not find out that he is a father by seeing a finger painting with ' _To Grandpa, from Bailey'_ written in the corner by Betty.

"Let me just grab us some drinks and then how 'bout we take it outside to have a chat?"

Jughead gives his father a strange look, as though he is picking up on the older mans nerves. However, Jughead's momentary suspicion is short-lived seeing as he does he not have anything solid to question beyond his fathers marginally odd behaviour, so he just puts it down to the fact that it's their first time seeing each other after four years of separation.

After proposing they sit and char outside, FP is quick to blaze inside, grabbing two, cold Cokes from the fridge and then darting back to the front door where his son is still waiting, curiously.

"What? No booze?" Jughead questions as his father hands him the cold can of soft drink and the two make their way to the cheap, plastic outdoor setting consisting of a single table and two old, sun-damaged chairs.

"No booze" FP confirms in answer to his sons question. "There hasn't _been_ any booze in four years. After all, almost twelve months of prison made for a pretty good detox from it and then I haven't touched the stuff since."

Jughead glances over to his father, a small smile lingering on the corners of his lips.

"Good on you... I'm glad to hear it."

"So where have you been?" FP asks. "I tried your phone so many times. You didn't even tell your mother where you were. Don't do that _ever_ again."

"I got on a bus to Oklahoma the night that you were arrested. This is my first time away from there since."

Jughead keep his explanation short and brief, to the point.

"And you're doing well there?"

"Yeah... I am. It took a while. When I moved out there at first I wasn't. But, now I've got a job writing for the local paper, I've got money coming in, I share a nice, small house and I've got a housemate I get on well with. I really can't complain."

Jughead neglects to go into great details about Doug, the man who has been more of a father to him than his own father sitting beside him has, while simultaneously managing to act as a friend, a confidant and almost a brother.

"I'm glad, son" FP replies with a genuine smile that just seconds later, Jughead returns, inadvertently.

Then, after a few moments of silence between the father and son, Jughead raises the first of many questions that he has accumulated over the last four years.

"So, when I visited Archie and Veronica yesterday they told me you were released from jail within a year after I left... What happened then? Do we know who killed Jason if it wasn't you?"

"' _If it wasn't me?'_ Jeez kid, thanks for the vote of confidence" FP snickers, taking a mouthful of his drink before turning to his son. "His murder was just the tip of the iceberg for the Blossoms drug trafficking. The poor kid didn't want in on the family business so his old man knocked him off. You've got your friends to thank for working it out, but he took the cowards way out and killed himself before the police got to him."

Jughead flinches hearing the end of the story that he had left right in the middle of all those years ago.

"You're kidding me..."

FP shakes his head, confirming that a blockbuster movie _hadn't_ come to the small town of Riverdale and that the twisted truth was in fact still t _he truth_.

Following a silence after his explanation of the truth behind Jason Blossom's murder and murderer, FP moves onto the question that he is _really_ wanting to know after seeing his son for the first time in over four years.

"So, have you seen Betty?"

" _Wow_. I'm surprised you remember her name. You couldn't even remember the name of my teacher when I was in school, yet you remember my ex-girlfriend's name, four years on."

FP doesn't mention that the fact that he sees her at least once a fortnight when she drops off she and Jughead's daughter has definitely aided his ability to remember the younger mans high school sweetheart.

"I always liked Betty, you know that."

Jughead just nods at his fathers reasoning, he can't argue with his point. After all, right from the night that he took his girlfriend at the time to his fathers trailer to introduce them to one another for the very first time, Jughead knew that FP approved of Betty to an extreme degree.

"True. And, _no_... I asked to see her, but she doesn't want to see me. Can't blame her."

Jughead misses the look of surprise on his fathers face and it's a good thing he did, or else it would have marked the very beginning of Betty's house of cards coming crumbling down.

"I heard what you did. I heard about the way you treated Betty and how you just upped and left her. I gotta say, I'm very disappointed in you, Jughead. I thought you were better than that. I thought you were better than _me_..."

Jughead sighs, his head slumped down to the ground shamefully as he pushes a loose rock around on the grass with his foot.

"It's more complicated than that, dad..."

FP stifles his scoff. _Damn right_. His son doesn't know the half of how much more complicated it is...

"That may be so, but it doesn't excuse what you did. It doesn't excuse the fact that you left without a trace or a goodbye. It doesn't excuse the way that you hurt that girl... Did you know that she visited me in prison, trying to track you down? She even called your mother. She cared about you _that_ much when you couldn't even leave without saying goodbye to her?"

Jughead brings his gaze up to determine the fact that his father is completely serious about what he has just told, eliciting another sigh from the younger man. He feels sure that his own guilt is punishment enough. But, his father doesn't relent and he doesn't give up, continuing to push the point that he's trying to make.

"I know that the Cooper's give off 'The American Dream' lifestyle, but trust me when I say that Betty's life has been far from rosy."

"What do you know?" Jughead's question is intense and the look that he gives his father to partner the question is full of focus.

Jughead remembers the look in Betty's eyes, the look of pain and sadness that he had picked up on in Archie and Veronica's wedding photos, pressuring his father if he has even the _slightest_ clue about what that anguish that was so well hidden, but that he could so clearly see in his ex-girlfriend is about.

"Did something happen to Betty after I left? Tell me, dad."

FP is startled by the intensity of his sons question and he can't help but feel as though he has backed himself into a corner. In labouring his point, he had said far too much. So, FP links his unintentional clues back to the past, in a desperate attempt to throw his son off the scent that he's already said far too much about already.

"She needed you, Jughead... I told you that at your party, I told you that it seemed like she needed you then. Yet, you abandoned her a week later when she needed you more than ever."

Jughead takes another big, deep intake of guilt-ridden air before releasing it all in a sigh. In case his growing guilt still isn't enough, his father keeps talking, imploring him to contact his ex-girlfriend.

"Look, I know that you said that she doesn't want to see you, but try again. If you only ever take one piece of advice from me, ever, make it this one. Keep trying to talk to Betty. Think about what you did to her - it's no surprise that she's hesitant to see you again. But, _keep trying_."

#

In the end, Jughead didn't need to plead with Veronica and Archie to give him Betty's number and he didn't need to get on his hands and knees, begging her to meet up with him. Because, unknowingly to Jughead, at the same time of day in the same little town, Betty is having a change of heart...

After sleeping on the decision the night before, thinking it through a little more carefully, Betty realises that she _needs_ to see him. In the very least, she needs answers and she needs the closure that she never received all those years ago.

So, as she walks out from her daughter's bedroom the following day, having just putting the little girl down for her nap, Betty pulls her phone out from her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she then chooses the familiar contact in her phone and holds her arms around herself supportively as she walks into the kitchen, leaning against a bench-top.

When Veronica answers the phone, connecting the call between the two girls, Betty doesn't wait for her friend to say a single word before she starts to speak, knowing if she doesn't speak _now_ , she never will. So, she just talks.

"Look, I don't know if there's any hope of Jughead ever being in Bailey's life. But, either way, one day I'm going to have to explain to a little girl why her father never knew about her, at least not for the first four years of her life... I need answers. I need to know why he left me, why he left Riverdale... Because, one day, I'm going to need to tell his daughter that reason."

Veronica does well at jumping straight into the conversation that Betty has just started, bypassing any small talk and immediately getting into the nitty-gritty.

"Have you changed your mind? Are you saying that you want to meet up with him, B?"

"Tell him _Pop's_ , tonight, 6 o'clock sharp."

* * *

 **So, after initially refusing to see him, Betty had a change of heart for Bailey's sake. And, I hope you liked the bit of father-son time. I know several of you thought that Jughead might find out about Bailey by seeing the picture of her, but FP was thinking the very same thing... ;) All in good time. I know that FP seemed to let Jughead off pretty easy, but I wanted at least one person to be outwardly happy about his return. Besides, FP most certainly went on to labour the importance of seeing Betty to Jughead...**

 **Once again, enormous thank you to everyone who made the effort to read and review the last chapter. THANK YOU! The response to this story has been so motivating and it has definitely helped me to get the new chapters up faster. I hope you all continue to enjoy the ride.**

 **Next chapter: Betty + Jughead + a booth at Pop's + four years worth of pain = a lot of talking to do... How will their meeting go? Will she tell him about Bailey? And, will he reveal the real reason he left Riverdale?**


	9. After All This Time

**CHAPTER NINE – After All This Time**

Studying herself through the standalone mirror in her bedroom, with a spritz of her Eau de Parfum and a final pucker of her full, lipstick-glazed lips, Betty Cooper is ready to go.

"You look so beautiful, mummy" Bailey comments, gazing adoringly as she watches her mother get ready for her meeting with her father.

To the little girl, her mother resembles a real-life princess in the way her golden hair falls around her face beautifully, in the way her full lips are perfectly coated in a sheer, your-lips-but-better lipstick and the way she glides around her own bedroom as she gets ready, appearing so much more confident than she actually is.

"Aw... Thank you, baby" Betty replies as she releases a little, nervous laugh at her daughter's comment.

Then, walking over to where she is perched on the end of Betty's bed, the young mother crouches down in front of her daughter. Betty gives Bailey a warm, kind, genuine smile as she kisses the three-year-old's nose. Meanwhile, the little girl is enraptured by her mother's beauty, reaching out to touch and tousle the loose locks of hair sweeping around Betty's face, before her hands reach out to touch her mother's earrings, like a magpie to silver.

"So beautiful, mummy..."

From where she's standing under the doorframe between Betty's bedroom and the hallway, Veronica agrees with Bailey's opinion of her mother.

"She's right, B."

Normally Betty would call on her parents to babysit Bailey if she was going out for the evening. However, in order to avoid an interrogation from her parents and to try and keep Jughead _alive_ for long enough to be able to see him, Veronica had offered for her and Archie to come over and babysit the former couple's three-year-old while they meet up.

"You're going to knock his socks off... Show him what he's missed out on for the last four years."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence V, but that's so _not_ what this is about."

#

Betty Cooper arrives at _Pop's Chocklit Shoppe_ just half an hour later. Although it's most likely the millionth time in her life that she has arrived at that very diner, Betty can feel her heart racing within her like no other time before.

Walking inside, she sees him before he sees her.

Betty can make out the top of a very familiar beanie, where its possessor is seated at a booth further in the diner, facing away from the door. Then, as she takes a few small steps and a very deep breath, Betty's stomach drops as she makes a sudden realisation...

After all these years, _it's really him_.

After all the days that she spent wishing that he would come home, after all the weeks that she spent wondering where he was, after all the months that she spent wanting to know why he had left and after all the years that she had spent worrying about him, after all of it, _it's really him_. He's really here, sitting in a booth at _Pop's_.

For just a brief moment, it's like no time has passed. It's almost as though he's still just seventeen-year-old Jughead making his daily visit to _Pop's_ , sitting and waiting for his girlfriend at a booth. But, time _has_ passed by. In fact, a lot of it has.

"Jughead Jones... You're alive."

Betty says his name with a breathy sigh as she approaches his booth; looking down to the man as she lays eyes on him for the first time in four years.

He looks _good_...

He's just as handsome, dark and broody as the boy that she had fallen in love with so many years ago. He looks well-rested. The dark bags under his eyes that were far too dark for a teenager to have to carry are now barely visible. He looks a little more toned and even his features that she knows so well are just a little more rugged and masculine. He looks really good.

Before Betty had interrupted him with her greeting, Jughead had been sitting and waiting for her, nervously. In fact, he had just been weighing up what the likelihood of her turning up for their meeting or not might be, considering the way that he had left her so abruptly four year earlier. Really, his only reason to base his hope on her showing up is that Betty is far too polite to be a no-show. However, he wouldn't blame his ex-girlfriend in the slightest if she felt more inclined not to turn up.

He is shaken from his nervous thoughts first by her familiar voice which sounds both a little soft and a little shaky, and then by her presence as she approaches his booth. Immediately, his gaze is turned upwards as he looks to her, the girl that he had loved and had left. Seeing her after all this time, he can't suppress the small smile that spreads across his lips as his eyes grow sad. It's bittersweet.

"Hey Betts..."

After all this time, she _still_ takes his breath away.

Jughead goes to stand up from his spot at the booth in order to touch her or to give her a hug, _something_ , just to feel a slither of comfort that it is apparent that they both very much need. However, noticing his body language, Betty lets her own do the talking as she quickly darts into the booth opposite him, signifying the fact that she doesn't want that touch, that comfort, it's far too late for that.

"It's good to see you..." he says, just as quiet as he is awkward. "You look good."

Betty remains silent as she just nips at the corner of her lip, looking down to the table. Although he looks _very_ good and although it is good to see him too, _he_ had been the one in control of whether or not they saw each other over the past four years and Betty struggle to suppress the stab of pain at that fact. Instead, she raises one of the questions that is the most important to her, the question that she can't hold back as it slips from her lips.

"Are you safe? Are you well?"

Jughead gives her a slow, sure nod in answer to her question as Betty's serious expression is flooded with relief. For just a moment, the smallest smile appears on the corner of her lips.

"Yeah, I'm doing well. Thanks. How are _you_?" Jughead's own face grows serious this time as he waits for her to answer with genuine interest. In the silence, he watches her intently, searching for the truthful answer to his question.

It's too hard to tell him about how she's living a daily struggle. It's too hard to admit to him that she feels like her strength is running thin. It's too hard to tell him about just how much it's killing her to even simply sit in the seat opposite him at their booth. So, instead, Betty just goes for her standard answer.

"I'm fine."

The saccharine smile that Betty gives Jughead to accompany her response is just as fake as the answer itself. He knows it.

"Betty..."

Jughead's tone of voice as he utters her name is like a plea for her to tell the truth. His intent eyes communicate that he _knows_ that there's more to the story, remembering the look in her eyes in the photos that he had seen of Archie and Veronica's wedding.

"I really am fine, Jughead. Leave it."

His brows furrow seriously. While he might succumb to more small-talk and drop the issue for the meantime, Jughead doesn't forget it.

"How's your family, then?"

"They're fine, _too_ , thanks. My parents are just the same as always and the twins keep Polly busy. "

Jughead just nods in response. The conversation is stilted and rigid for the two people who used to be so at ease with each other and could talk in great length and detail about anything and everything. Not to mention, being reduced to small talk when there is _so_ much to be said between them is just as awkward and uncomfortable for one person as it is for the other.

After a moment of silence following her response, Betty looks up to Jughead. She can't hide the sadness in her eyes as she musters up all her courage to ask the question that she has been seeking to for years. Her voice sounds thick as she utters his name.

"Jughead? Where did you go?"

"Oklahoma. The night of homecoming, I was originally planning to catch a bus to Toledo to see my mum and my sister. But, plans changed and I ended up in another small town in Oklahoma. This is actually the first time that I've been away from the place ever since."

Betty releases a pent-up sigh. That question has tortured her for _years_. Initially, it had just been a question of where on earth Jughead had disappeared to when he didn't want to be found. Then, the longer that time went on, the more it tormented her, wondering where he was, if he was safe and if he was even alive.

So, in answer to his question, she just nods. That's all she bring herself to do until she speaks up again, many moments later.

"That's funny because _apparently_ Oklahoma has phone reception. I even heard this crazy rumour that they have the internet there nowadays, too... So, why didn't you answer any of my calls or my messages? _Anything_... I can't even estimate how many times I tried to contact you."

Jughead just sighs, looking down to the table as he buries his hands in his hair, under his beanie.

"The night that I left, I threw my phone in the bin at the bus shelter. I got rid of everything. I wasn't intending to ever come back here."

After the night that he is talking about, it had taken Betty a week to realise the truth that is pouring out from Jughead's lips; the fact that he didn't _want_ to be found. He didn't want her to find him, like she had spent so long trying to do. Yet, hearing the truth from him and being closer to him than she has in years, even on opposite sides of the booth, Betty still has no idea of _why_.

"Why didn't you even try to say goodbye?"

As Betty looks up to him from across the table, she asks him the one, simple question that has haunted her for years in a soft, croaky voice that breaks his heart.

"I am so sorry, Betty. I know that I should have at least tried to say goodbye to everyone, but especially _you_ of all people. I know that it's no excuse, but I was hurting. My world was crumbling and I wasn't thinking straight."

"You weren't the only one... I trusted in you with everything that I had, Jughead. I gave you _everything_ I had. And, you just threw that all right back in my face."

Her eyebrows are furrowed in distress and Betty can't control the tears that fill her eyes as she tries -and fails- to hide the hurt and the pain that she has carried over the last four years as a result of Jughead's actions.

"I am so, _so_ sorry, Betty..."

Jughead can't stop himself as he holds his hand out to reach for hers, wanting to touch her, hold her, comfort her - _anything_ \- at seeing the distress that he has caused. But, Betty pulls her hands away at the first sign of his encroaching on hers. Instead, she tucks one hand under the table where it falls onto her lap, as the other reaches up to dab at her moist eyes, rejecting his touch with a small shake of her head.

After a few, long moments of silence, Betty releases a little sniffle, swiping her eyes dry once more as she tries to change the subject and return to small talk, straying away from the emotional route that they had gone down, resulting in digging up the painful past.

"So, what about work? Do you have a job in Oklahoma?"

"Yeah... I'm still writing, but I work for the local paper. What about you?"

"Four days a week I actually work here and then at night, I write articles for _The Register_."

Betty doesn't elaborate on how well her jobs work with raising their daughter. Pop Tate had been wonderful to the young mother, offering her an after school job until she needed to take maternity leave. Then, after Bailey was born and after Betty left school, he had set up a little room -the office out the back- and sectioned it off from the food areas for Bailey, permitting Betty to bring her daughter to work without needing a babysitting, while the little girl could play or colour-in as Betty and the other _Pop's_ employees would keep an eye on her. Then, for her second job, Betty's parents had offered a column at Riverdale's local paper, being flexible with her work hours to permit her to be able to write and submit her work after Bailey was asleep in the evenings.

At first, Jughead nods. A small smile peeks through on the corner of his lips at the fact that she's still writing too. After all, writing for _The Blue and Gold_ had been what had brought them together, causing childhood friends to become high school sweethearts along the way. However, after just a moment, Jughead becomes distracted with disbelief.

He can't believe that _Betty Cooper_ has only resulted to working in at _Pop's_ and for her parents. Right from elementary school, everyone -Jughead included- was certain that Betty would be the one to go on to achieve greatness. From an early age, she was pinned as the girl who would go places, the girl whose name would be up in lights for all the best reasons... _What happened?_

"Betty? Why are you still here? What happened about your internship? Didn't anything else come of that? I thought that you would be off saving the world in one way or another... Why haven't you left Riverdale?"

Looking over to Jughead from across the table at the booth that they are sharing, Betty is captivated by a pair of baby blue eyes. His eyes are identical to the shade of blue that she sees in her beautiful little girl each and every day... In _their_ little girl... The little girl that Jughead doesn't even know exists.

In that moment, feeling mesmerized as her emerald eyes lock with his familiar blue ones, Betty takes a big, deep breath to calm her nerves as she prepares to tell him.

"Because..."

However, before the words slip from her lips and before she has a chance to tell him her life-changing news, Betty hesitates as head overrules heart, stopping herself.

"Well, _because_ things came up."

Jughead looks to his ex-girlfriend, watching her intently, as if sensing her hesitance, but having no clue as to _what_ she is refraining from divulging to him.

"Betts..." he encourages, until she cuts him off with a shake of her head, changing the subject abruptly.

"Jughead? Did you just stop caring about me on the night of homecoming? Because, before then, I thought we were going _so_ well. I mean the week before you left..."

As Betty trails off, she feels overcome with both hurt and emotion. As much as she tries to hide it, he can see the tears that are pricking the corners of her eyes while her eyes grow both moist and red. Jughead can see the depth of Betty's pain, triggered by the latest question that she has put to him. After all, there's a number of different ways that Betty's sentence could have gone before she trailed off...

... The week before he left had been his birthday. While his party had gone downhill fast, things took a turn and the rest of the evening picked up and improved for Betty, for Jughead and for their relationship.

... The week before he left, she had laid herself bare for him to see the true Betty Cooper, the girl behind the facade of pastel perfection. She had exposed her palms to him, showing him both her old scars and her fresh wounds as he took her hands in his, kissing them, loving her even more for showing him.

... And, the week before he left, their daughter had been conceived.

Despite the way that Betty had rejected his touch earlier, seeing her pain, her upset and her tears that threaten to fall, Jughead can't stop himself from reaching out to her and trying again. This time, as he reaches for her hands that are resting on the table of their booth, she doesn't pull away; she's too busy trying to stay afloat. So, Jughead's hands comfortingly clasp onto hers, taking her hands in his like he had done all those years ago when they sat together in a different booth at _Pop's_ , as he comforts her once again.

It's their first touch in over four years.

"No!" Jughead finally says in answer to her question. Although his voice is soft and calm, his word is full of conviction.

"... I didn't just _stop_ caring about you, Betty. No, not all. I know that it's no excuse, but even though you thought you were protecting me, you really hurt me that night at homecoming. But, that's no excuse for what I did and I'm sorry. I will never stop _being_ sorry for what I did to you and the way I just left."

With her hands in his, Betty can't wipe her falling tears away as she looks him deeply in the eyes, her tear-filled emerald ones meeting his somber, baby blues as she finally asks the question that she has been seeking the answer to for years.

"Jughead... _Why_ did you leave Riverdale? Why did you leave _me_?"

Their eyes are locked to one another's intently. Both of them can see the depth of each other's raw pain and heartbreak over their past. Seeing Betty's pain, knowing that she has no reasons _why_ encourages Jughead to take a deep breath as he holds onto her hands a little tighter, preparing to say the words that he has never admitted to aloud; the words he has never even admitted to himself.

She deserves to know the reason _why_ and he's about to tell it to her...

"Wow, Betty! I'm not used to seeing you without Bailey by your side!"

At the interruption from a third party, two heads dart up to look at the _Pop's_ waiter, Betty's co-worker, as their hands quickly disband, falling into their own laps. However, Betty's panic doesn't end there. At the mention of her daughter's name – _their_ daughter's name- in front of Jughead, her heart pounds and she looks over to him, silently watching his reaction.

Jughead remains silent, too, although his face grows serious as he looks to the waiter and then back over to her.

Then, as she glances back over to him with trembling hands and churning stomach, Betty sees a familiar look on Jughead's face... But, it's not the expression that she had expected to see. After all, it's the look that Jughead had been reserved for Archie throughout their childhood as Betty pined for _Archie_ , while Jughead pined for _her_. Betty slowly realises that his expression is the look of discomfort and insecurity, induced by jealousy.

... He doesn't realise _who_ Bailey is. And, more than that, Betty has a fairly strong inkling that he has mistaken _their_ _daughter_ for being _her_ _boyfriend_.

In that moment, Betty has never been more grateful for the fact that she had given her daughter a unisex name. So, taking a little breath of relief, she turns to Josh, her co-worker, with a forced chuckle, intentionally being careful to avoid the word 'she'.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? We're inseparable..."

"So where is Bailey tonight, then?"

"Just at home, hanging out with Archie and Veronica tonight."

Listening to his ex-girlfriend's words from the other side of the table, Jughead takes a painful gulp, assuming that Betty and Bailey are a couple, living together. And as if believing that his ex-girlfriend has moved on isn't enough of a bitter pill to have to swallow, Jughead has flashes of an unknown male figure taking his spot in the core-four, filling his place in the Scooby Gang...

Jughead is so preoccupied with his thoughts that he doesn't notice Josh wrapping up the conversation, continuing to work as he walks off.

However, it's too late. Josh's words have already triggered a sense of tunnel vision for Jughead, set on the exit of _Pop's_. He wants to get out of there and away from Betty as quickly as he can, so he slides out of his seat at the booth, giving her a final, awkward wave.

"It was good to see you again, but I think that this was a mistake. I shouldn't have asked you to meet up with me. _Goodbye, Betty Cooper_."

Aside from the fact that he is walking out, not running out, Jughead rushes out of _Pop's_ not looking back and with no intentions to return _just_ like he had raced out of his high school on one particular night over four years ago...

... And, Betty lets him.

After leaving _Pop's_ and Betty once again, Jughead pulls his phone out of his pocket, dialing a familiar number in a huff, as he storms off and races further and further away from the diner, with no destination in mind.

"I hope you're happy, Doug. I never should have come here. I'm getting on the first bus out of Riverdale tomorrow."

* * *

 **Wow, I was nervous to post this. There's been so much anticipation for Betty and Jughead's reunion so I hope that the chapter lived up to it... There was a lot of pain and they both had to face a lot of hard truths from the aftermath of the way Jughead left. But right when it looked like she might, Betty stopped herself from telling Jughead about Bailey. Was she right to let him leave without telling him? And, Jughead was interrupted before he had a chance to tell her the real reason behind why he left in the first place. Not to mention, what is that reason? I can't wait to see what you all thought of this one.**

 **Also, thank you to everyone who left a review and shared their thoughts and feedback on the last chapter. The response is just blowing me away and it's most definitely encouraged me to get the chapters up as soon as I can, so thank you all!**

 **Next chapter : Will Jughead leave Riverdale without either he or Betty knowing each other's biggest secret? Meanwhile, struggles in the wake of seeing Jughead. Then, while she's still trying to recover from the reunion, Betty experiences an awful scare. **


	10. Lost And Found

**CHAPTER TEN – Lost And Found**

Returning home from _Pop's_ that evening, Betty feels defeated.

She has just sent Archie and Veronica home, relieving them of babysitting her daughter who is now well and truly fast asleep.

Haphazardly, Betty takes a seat at her small dining table which she'd bought from an op shop when she and Bailey had first moved in. Then, her face falls into her hands as her body is overcome with her distress and her fragile frame is overwrought with cries that tremble and quake silently throughout her to ensure that she doesn't wake her daughter.

Then, when her tears finally stop replenishing themselves and as her whimpers grow silent, Betty drags herself up from her seat at the table; every inch of her body feeling as heavy as lead.

Yet, as mentally and emotionally exhausted as Betty is, in that moment she finds her feet carrying her and guiding her to her daughter's bedroom, rather than her own.

From where she stands in the door-frame, Betty quickly catches sight of her beautiful little girl sleeping peacefully in the darkened room, with the light in the hallway hitting Bailey's wild, golden curls that are sprawled out across her pillow. One of her arms is slung around and tightly clutching onto her favourite teddy, the soft toy version of Hot Dog that FP had gifted to Bailey as a baby; which had belonged to the little girl's father before it became hers. Then, Bailey's other arm is relaxed, raised above her head and on her pillow around her locks of her hair.

As she slowly and quietly enters Bailey's bedroom, Betty collapses at her daughter's bedside, her eyes still red and moist. She just sits there. She just sits there watching her daughter's rhythmic breaths, admiring the little girl's innocence and peace that is worlds away from her own pain and anguish. Then, from where she's sitting at Bailey's bedside, leaning against the wooden panels of her daughter's bed, Betty exhales the deepest, quietest sigh that she can muster.

The young, single mother watches her daughter, following the pattern of her small, silent breaths; in and out and in and out...

Bailey looks so peaceful, so immune to the problems not only around her in the world, but the pain that has been brought into her own home upon her father's return to town.

As she watches the little girl sleep, it's as if her calmness is contagious, radiating through to Betty as her daughter unknowingly, slowly begins to give her the peace that her mother so desperately needs. Then, after Betty shifts a stray golden strand of hair that is hanging in front of her daughter's sleeping face, she takes a big, deep breath, wiping away the fallen tear on her own cheek that at long last doesn't seem to regenerate itself.

As much as she loves her daughter with her whole, entire being, Betty tries to determine whether having Jughead's child has brought her more or less peace. It's hard to tell...

On one hand, Bailey is Betty's entire world. She couldn't imagine a reality without the little girl that has brought her so much happiness and purpose to her life. But, she wouldn't have that little girl in front of her without the man who has brought so much pain to her life. And, as much as she loves every fiber of Bailey's being and every cell in her body, Betty can't help the sting that she feels from seeing so much of Jughead in his daughter... Every smile, every expression, every little mole on her body just brings a fresh ache to Betty's wounds that haven't healed over the last four years.

Jughead and Bailey have both been such enormous parts of Betty's life, in very different ways.

However, in spite of being father and daughter, they are like two parallel lines. No matter how close together they are, they never quite meet and they never quite touch. It's as though where and when Jughead left Betty's life, Bailey entered it. So much so, it's still hard for Betty to believe that the last time that she saw Jughead and on the night when her heartbreak began, Bailey already existed deep within her, unbeknownst to them both.

"I love you so much Bailey..."

As she whispers the affirmation of her love for her sleeping daughter in an undertone, Betty doesn't realise that her tears have begun to fall and slide down her face once again, dampening her cheeks that hadn't even had the chance to dry in that time.

Then, after pressing a final kiss to her sleeping daughter's head, Betty pulls herself up and drags herself out of Bailey's room before she collapses into her own. She releases her grief and cries her heart out until she's numb, knowing that by morning she's going to need to be strong enough for the both of them tomorrow, once again, then the day after that and the day after that.

Betty knows that she's going to need to be strong enough for both herself and for Bailey, day in, day out...

#

The following day is Riverdale's seasonal market, held quarterly, right in the middle of the town.

Locals throughout town bring their businesses and their goods to set up stalls, making the temporary marketplace. All sorts of stands are set up for everything ranging from Mrs. Hedger's famous cupcakes, to the Baker family's law firm, to Emily's enormous scented soy candle range... Almost everyone in town has stands set up to promote their businesses in Riverdale, providing a little snapshot of their services and their goods.

Although it's the last thing that Betty feels like doing after having dinner with Jughead the night before, she had promised Veronica that she would help her with her stall for the market. After all, Betty has slightly more of a grasp on the high end luxuries that comprise Veronica's business than what the Latina's husband does. So, in exchange for Betty helping Veronica with her stall, Archie is looking after Betty's daughter in the back corner of the stall, keeping Bailey preoccupied as the two girls work.

So far, the morning had been quiet and it had turned into part two of Veronica wanting to hear every nitty-gritty detail of Betty's meeting with the father of her child last night. Currently, the blonde is recapping the evening for the _third_ time, clarifying Veronica's questions once again.

"So, he didn't say _anything_ else. He didn't tell you why he left Riverdale? He didn't clear anything else up?"

Before answering her friend's question that she _hasn't_ raised for the first time, Betty momentarily glances behind them to where Bailey is sitting on Archie's lap, talking his ear off about every, single Disney film ever made in great detail; the three-year-old girl already being quite the little movie buff. Then, after checking on her daughter's current whereabouts, Betty turns back to Veronica to answer her friend's question, feeling her patience beginning to wear thin.

"V, I love you, but you've heard the whole story _three_ times, now. It hasn't changed since last night and it hasn't changed since the last time I gave you every little detail."

Veronica ignores Betty's gentle way of trying to tell her friend to move on and just clarifies a different detail instead.

"And then at the end, he just walked out? _Again_?!"

" _Well_ , to be fair, at least he said goodbye this time so that's some solid improvement in four years..."

The corner of Betty's lips upturn in the smallest of smirks, but there's really nothing funny about it. Veronica misses her friend's sarcasm, putting another question to her instead.

"And you didn't mention anything to him about Bailey?"

"No, I didn't say a word about her. He still has no idea she exists..." Betty pauses, exhaling a deep sigh, dodging her friend's eye as she makes an honest confession.

"But, honestly V, at one point I nearly told him. I was going to... Just looking him in the eye, I got swept up in the moment. I fell in love with his eyes all those years ago and I see those eyes in Bailey every day. I don't know... It felt familiar. It felt safe and warm. I felt like I _could_ tell him. I felt like despite everything that's happened, I _wanted_ to tell him about how we made a beautiful little girl who has his eyes. But then, before I had a chance to say anything, my head overruled my heart and I piked out."

Veronica releases an obvious exhale of relief. As much as Betty loves her best friend, she can't help but feel like she and Veronica are on very different wavelengths. As the blonde divulges details about her moment of vulnerability from the previous night, her fiercely protective raven-haired friend bypasses the emotion and is more focused on being gladdened about the fact that he _didn't_ find out.

"Good... You dodged a bullet, B. After all, if he just upped and left you _again_ last night like he did all those years ago, then he doesn't deserve to know about our girl. He's not dependable."

Hearing Veronica's firm, decisive comments, Betty bites her lip. As much as Jughead's return has stirred up the pain of her past and reopened her old wounds, a part of Betty feels like she's finally found the closure that she needed by finally letting go of the hope that she has unknowingly carried in the back of her mind for years... The hope of him returning, pleading for her forgiveness and one day, being a family with their daughter. There's no hope of that now and _that_ is a bittersweet realisation.

"Veronica? I don't think he's ever going to come back... I think that this was the goodbye he should have said four years ago..."

Suddenly, seeing the fragility in her friend's face and hearing the thick emotion in her words, Veronica is moved. While she had been fiery just moments earlier, seeing her friend's emotions that she's been so desperately trying to hide, Veronica reaches out to grasp Betty's hand as she gives it a big, reassuring squeeze.

"Oh, B..."

As Betty swipes at her eyes, she feels the fresh tears that she didn't know had fallen. It takes her a moment, but after a sniffle, Betty feels far stronger and more composed.

"It's okay. We're going to be okay. His fly-in, fly-out visit won't change anything... Bailey and I have got by without him so far. We don't need him in our life."

Veronica gives her friend a small, sympathetic smile as she squeezes Betty's hand with another show of encouragement and reassurance. Then, Betty gives her concerned friend a smile in return before she continues speaking.

"But, _I don't know_... A part of me always thought that one day, Bailey would know about him, V... I always imagined that one day, somehow, he'd just _know_. I mean it's crazy to think that she's half of him, but yet he has absolutely no idea she even exists."

"Like you said yourself, you're gonna be okay. Both of you will be... You've got Archie and I, you've got Kev, you've got your parents, FP, Casey, Polly, Ethel, Pop Tate... Hell, I even think that you have Cheryl Blossom in your corner. _Sure_ , yours and Bailey's lives might not have Jughead in it, but he hasn't left a void in it."

Betty nods at her friend's encouraging words before glancing behind them to Archie and her daughter once again. Even though she knows that Bailey is with Archie, Betty can't quite shake the habit of checking on Bailey's whereabouts as she does nineteen million times a day. As she quickly catches sight of her daughter kneeling on her childhood best friend's lap, Betty smiles, stifling a giggle as she watches on for a moment and sees how Archie is letting Bailey reach up and style his fire-red hair, shaping it to all sorts of angles and terrible hair styles.

Then, as Betty turns away from watching her daughter and as she returns to the conversation with her friend, her mood darkens instantly while she releases a sigh.

"V? Do you think that what's right for _me_ is necessarily what's fair to _Bailey_? At the end of the day and no matter how he's hurt me, Jughead's still her dad..."

Veronica thinks over her friend's question for a moment, taking a second to find her stance on what Betty's asking her. Then, before long, she's giving Betty her own decisive -and a little controversial- decision.

"She's _your_ daughter, Betty. Think of it as though he was just a sperm donor."

"But was he _just_ that?" Betty asks, her brows furrowing as she plays Devil's Advocate. "After all, Jughead wasn't just some fling or a random one-night-stand for me. I loved him. Back then, I thought that he was the love of my life..."

Veronica's face grows intent and fierce again at the reminder of the way that Jughead had abandoned her best friend, hurting her badly. Regardless of the fact that he didn't know that he'd abandoned his daughter too by leaving Betty, the way he hurt her was not okay.

"He left you, Betty. He didn't tell you that he was leaving, or where he was going or why he was leaving. You don't owe him anything."

Veronica's firm words elicit a sigh from Betty, as she looks down, nipping at the corner of her bottom lip, thoughtfully.

"I know _I_ don't owe him anything, but this is bigger than _us_... It's bigger than my hurt over him leaving me and it's bigger than whatever reason why he left. It's bigger than both of us. Because, it's about Bailey..."

As soon as Betty's words are out and before Veronica has the chance to say a single word, the two friends are interrupted.

"Guys... Is Bailey with you?"

Archie asks as he approaches the girls, interrupting his wife and his best friend. His voice is soft and apprehensive, his body language, sheepish.

"No, she was with _you_ " Veronica fires back instantly. Her response prompts an instant, gut-wrenching realisation, among the three of them...

The young mother ignores the way the newlyweds begin to bicker, she ignores how Veronica blames Archie and she ignores Archie's desperate attempts to explain what had happened; her concentration is entirely consumed with focus on finding her daughter.

So, not only does Betty ignore all of it, but she barely even registers the fact that her friends are speaking as she's struck with feeling the all-encompassing fear that fills every fiber of her being. It's all just background noise as Betty's stomach plummets at the realisation of the enormity of the situation... Betty is riddled with panic at the first signs of her daughter being lost.

Despite the alarms that are going off within her that are impossible to ignore, the young mother tries her very best to remain as calm and composed as she can, repeating her daughter's name over and over again as she thoroughly searches Veronica's stall and the surrounding area. Meanwhile, Veronica is waving her hands around frantically, yelling at her guilt-ridden husband about the fact that he was supposed to be watching the little girl.

However, Betty can feel her tentative trepidation that is sitting at the flood gates within her, waiting to burst free. Betty's hoping to find her daughter just hiding under the table or cowering in the corner and she's willing for her panic to be alleviated and just put down to a simple scare. But, with each passing second, Betty grows more and more fearful.

After a thorough search of Veronica's small stand brings no results and no sign of the little three-year-old girl, Betty can feel the breath being swept out of her at the enormity of the situation, feeling the sinking feeling of realising that her daughter is missing.

"Bailey?! Bailey... BAILEY!"

Betty's voice quivers as she bellows out her daughter's name, over and over again, equally fearful as she is desperate. Her sea-green eyes grow glassy and each beat of her heart becomes a pounding thump, continuing to race faster and faster in her chest. Her pale skin goes tight and clammy. She's lost all colour in her face as she shakes like a leaf...

It's any parent's worst nightmare.

#

It wasn't a deliberate act of disobedience.

It was right when Archie took his eyes off of her for the briefest moment -grabbing a drink of water and telling that he'd be right back- when Bailey had just seen something that caught her eye at a stall across the path. And, the little three-year-old girl was drawn to it like a magnet, attracted to the decoration in the same way that a magpie is to a shiny object...

It was a butterfly dream catcher that just twirled and swirled so magically and so temptingly in the wind and Bailey couldn't stop herself from walking over to get a better look.

Then, after fulfilling her desire to see the object up close, Bailey manages to escape her trance and she goes to turn back to and return to her uncle, her aunty and her mother at the stall.

But, after the few, brief seconds and in just a few steps, everything has changed; looking completely different to her little eyes. The crowds and swarms of people don't help, blocking her view and range of sight.

So, as her blue eyes begin to grow wide with worry, Bailey just chooses a direction and starts walking, biting her lip. But, after a few moments of walking, the little girl realises that she is only getting herself further _lost_ than _found_...

Her fear and her distress rapidly growing, Bailey begins to cry out for her mother as her baby blue eyes fill with tears and she comes to a standstill on the spot. Her little body begins to tremble fearfully and her eyes frantically look in every direction to try and spot her mother, her uncle, her aunty, someone, _anyone_...

#

Meanwhile, at the same time, in the same town, a certain tall, raven-haired young man is aimlessly walking around. He's on the outskirts of Riverdale's seasonal market that he is avoiding in the center of the town, dodging all the festivities and fanfare.

He's just killing time, waiting for the 3 o'clock bus headed to Oklahoma that could not come sooner. He's already been to _Pop's_ one last time, said goodbye to his father who had a strange interest in how things went with Betty and tried to say goodbye to Archie, but his knocks on the Andrew's front door went unanswered.

He just wants to get home. Ironic, considering that for more of his life than not, this very town was his home.

However, his plans are interrupted as he spots someone else standing alone among the crowd of families, friends and couples...

A good couple of metres away, he spots a little blonde girl -no older than four and far too young to be wandering around alone- standing alone among the crowds. The little girl's head flies around in every direction as though she is looking for someone, or something.

From afar, Jughead pauses and waits for a moment. He keeps a close eye on the girl but desperately hoping that someone else will see her, too. He hopes that someone else will realise that she's lost and approach her, offering to swoop in and save her, to be the hero of the day. Or, better yet, he hopes a parent will rush over and save the day.

However, after waiting for about half a minute that feels more like half a year, Jughead can see how much more distressed the little girl has become as she looks through the crowd of unfamiliar faces, fear springing to her eyes as she bites her lip in distress with free-flowing tears.

As much as he doesn't want to be a hero and as much as he wishes that someone else had spotted that little girl, Jughead can't ignore her and he can't just wait for someone to swoop in as she grows more upset and lost. Or, he can't wait for the wrong type of person to spot her. So, he fastens his pace and crosses to the other side of the town square approaching where the action and festivities of the markets are.

Then, crouching down in front of the lost little girl, Jughead reduces his height as two pairs of baby blue eyes in an identical hue meet.

"Hi there... Are you lost?"

* * *

 **So, they've met! But, as this stage, Jughead and Bailey are just two strangers. So, how will things transpire from here as they work together to find Betty? Will Jughead work out who Bailey is for himself or will a reunion between mother and daughter trigger his realisation? How will he react? And how will Betty respond?**

 **I hope you all like the way that Jughead and Bailey have finally met. Trust me, I thought about _every_ different way that he could find out/how their paths could intercept/how he could be told so I hope you all like the way it has actually happened. **

**Also, a big, big thank you to everyone who left a review on the last chapter. Each and every one of them means the world. I appreciate the feedback and the support so much.**

 **Next chapter: Jughead realises who Bailey is. How will he react? **


	11. Who He Left Behind

**CHAPTER ELEVEN – Who He Left Behind**

 _Jughead crouches down in front of the distressed little girl as two pairs of identical baby blue eyes meet._

 _"Hi... Are you lost?"_

As Jughead kneels beside Bailey to get down to the level of the anxious little girl who would be no older than four, his surprise takes his breath away at seeing **just** how much the child in front of him looks like _another_ little girl that he used to know. Although the little girl that he is looking straight at is forever being likened to _him_ , Jughead can't see anything beyond the reminder of one little blonde girl that he would play with for all hours of the day, along with their red-head friend.

... She **must** be one of Polly's twins. After all, the twins would have to be around four by now, it all adds up.

"Wow, you look just like your aunty. Jason and Polly really didn't get a look in..." Jughead mutters to himself in an undertone. Although he's halfheartedly speaking to her, Bailey is far too upset to have noticed that Jughead's lips have even moved, let alone that he has spoken.

Poor Bailey is inconsolable. Her little chest rapidly rises and falls with tears and growing upset as she nips at and bites into the corner of her lip, nervously.

"I lost mummy..." Bailey eventually utters as she grows calm enough to speak the three, little words before being overcome by more cries.

Then, despite her distress, Bailey remembers a point that her mother has drilled into her over the years, instantly prompting her to cross her arms and begin to turn away from Jughead.

"Can't talk to stwangers..."

"Look, I think that I know your mummy..." Jughead quickly explains in a desperate attempt _not_ to sound like some creep preying on lost little girls. But, it's worth the discomfort in the moment, because ultimately he knows that he trusts himself enough to get the little girl back to her mother safely, over some other stranger who might come along.

"I can help you find her. Or, we can find someone else who can help us find her. Just tell me where your mummy was the last time you saw her."

"Mummy working at the shops" Bailey explains in answer to Jughead's question as she looks around her surroundings of the main square in town, where she had made her way to all on her own before Jughead spotted her looking lost and alone.

At first, the little girl shrugs at the lack of familiarity as she looks around at the swarms of people. She takes in the overwhelming rush of noise from people talking loudly, to loudspeakers catching patrons attention and the music of a live band playing somewhere nearby. Bailey's desperately looking for something, anything, which will help her find her way back to Betty. However, seeing the swarms of people, the overwhelming noise, the flood of colour and the various signs, none of it looks even the slightest bit familiar to Bailey, but all of it quickly overwhelms her when all she wants is to find her mum...

At the overwhelming sensory overload of unfamiliarity, fresh tears begin to fill Bailey's eyes again as she grows more and more upset while Jughead panics, realising that she seems more upset this time than the last time.

"Hey, hey... It's okay. Don't worry, sweetie. We'll find her. I promise I'll help you find her. It'll be okay..."

As he desperately attempts to console the upset little girl, without even realising it, Jughead finds himself clapping a gentle, but reassuring hand on Bailey's shoulder to try to comfort her while he scans the crowd of people. He's looking for his exes sister, he's looking for Betty, for any Cooper or for some sort of a help-desk or kiosk to turn the little girl into... _Do they even **have** help-kiosks at fairs such as this? Because, they really **should** have help kiosks or at least attendants for people that get hurt and little girls that get lost_...

Jughead's desperate, rambling thoughts are interrupted by a gasp of relief that could make your heart skip a beat.

"BAILEY!"

Moments later, there's a frantic flurry of movement as a distraught young mother collapses down to her knees in front of her daughter, throwing her arms around the little girl as she holds her close and tight. There's no stopping the tsunami of tears that spring from her eyes, flooding with sobs of emotion from her worst nightmare being replaced with relief as she clutches tightly onto her daughter, never wanting to let go. Just from her presence by her side, you can feel Betty's pounding heart and you can feel the flood of total relief that fills her.

"Oh, my baby... My baby... Mummy's here... You're okay... It's okay..."

Betty's words are laced with relief and emotion, consoling herself just as much as they are intended to reassure her daughter.

Then, after a few moments and in front of three onlookers, the mother and daughter finally get in control of their emotions and relief enough for Betty to be able to take her daughter in her arms and pick her up as the little girl snuggles closely into her mother's arms with Bailey's head rested on Betty's shoulder. Then, rising up from where she had collapsed to the ground beside her daughter, Betty stands up with her little girl in her arms to look up to and thank the person who had looked after Bailey before she found her daughter; only to realise it's actually _their_ daughter...

"Juggie..." Betty croaks.

The young woman looks up to the pair of shell-shocked, baby blue eyes, belonging to the man who has been frozen to the spot for the entire time that he has been intently watching the reunion between the mother and daughter, as a life changing realisation slowly sinks in. Helplessly, Betty watches as everything sinks in and realisation sets in for her ex-boyfriend. She watches how Jughead's mouth drops open as his gaze returns to the little girl in her arms and then she watches Jughead's face drop as he looks back over to her.

Jughead carefully calculates everything he knows, everything he thought he knew and everything he is beginning to realise...

A week before he left Riverdale without a trace, he and Betty had taken the next step in their relationship. He left Riverdale four years, three months and nineteen days ago. A pregnancy takes nine months. He thought that the little girl who he had been helping just minutes ago looked no older than four; the little girl who looks so much like Betty... The little girl who had been looking for her mother and found his ex-girlfriend...

All of a sudden, everything makes _perfect_ sense.

Then, despite there being three-and-a-half years between both Betty and Jughead laying eyes on their daughter for the very first time, both instances have the same impact on them from the immensity of the moment.

 _Heartbreak_.

The joyous moment of seeing and holding her newborn daughter for the very first time in a delivery room had been clouded with heartbreak for Betty Cooper all those years ago, the bittersweet moment being dampened with the heartbreak of realising that she really is on her own with the beautiful, innocent little girl in her arms.

Now, three-and-a-half-years later, as he looks at the little girl nestled in her mother's comforting arms, realising that he is looking at his _daughter_ , Jughead Jones is certain that he can feel his heart break as it splits into a million, tiny, little pieces, shattering, from deep within him.

Then, for the first time since Betty had collapsed at their daughter's side, Jughead's focus snaps, shifting away from the little girl in his ex-girlfriend's arms as he and Betty's eyes meet and as his lock with hers in a heartbreaking silence.

So much is said between them without their saying a single word.

Catching his gaze, Betty tilts her head to the side a little with her own expression of heartbreak, desperately imploring him to remain calm in front of the little girl that has elicited this reaction from him as he realises the enormity of her existence in his life. However, Betty's own silent expression that is riddled with heartbreak only crushes Jughead that little bit more as he realises the extent of the situation that she has been in for the last four years since he left...

The sadness in her eyes... The way that his father had said she'd needed him more than ever... The reason Betty never left Riverdale for the big, bright future that she was destined for...

The reason is _him_... It's entirely his fault. _He_ got Betty pregnant. _He_ left her. _He_ made her a single mother.

Jughead realises that not only does he have a daughter -a little girl whose life he has missed out on- and not only had he left Betty all those years ago, _but_ he had left Betty to raise their daughter, all alone, and as a single mother.

From within her arms, Bailey can feel her mother's breath hitch and she can feel the tension as it spreads through her body. So, from where her head is rested on her mother's shoulder, Bailey turns her head to bring her attention to whatever, or whoever, her mother is looking at.

After having been comforted and consoled by Betty over the last few minutes, it's as if Bailey sees Jughead -the stranger who had helped her- through fresh eyes as her big, bright blue eyes light up in recognition. Maybe it's his beanie... Maybe it's the shade of baby blue eyes that are identical to her own orbs... Whatever it is, _something_ strikes Bailey as being familiar as she lets out a little gasp and turns to Betty, jolting both of her parents from the trance that they had both become entrapped in.

"Mummy! Mummy, look! It's the boy in Grandpa's photos!"

His mouth is still ajar from when it had fallen open as he looks to the little girl with dilated eyes that couldn't grow any wider. Jughead is so shocked that he is oblivious to the fact that Betty acknowledges the little girl's last comment with a gentle kiss to her golden curls.

When he had initially crouched down in front of that little girl, he had only been able to see every _Cooper_ feature in her. Yet, with his sinking realisation and as he observes her intently, it's as though Bailey's features transforms to the extent that now he can only see the _Jones_ in her.

The little girl who is stealing the spotlight for the moment is aware of Jughead's intent focus and locked gaze on her, so Bailey gives him a kind smile.

"Thank you for helping me."

He hears Bailey's words and he sees her smile in his direction, but he is still too stunned to reply to her, to even return her smile. He'll feel terrible for it later. But, he is trapped in his trance until his attention is caught when he notices that the little girl is slowly being carried her away from him and over to where Jughead hadn't seen their two friends standing, cowering, a few metres behind Betty.

As Veronica watches Betty approaching her, she opens her arms out to take the little girl in her best friend's arms, already offering her a suggestion before she has even reached her, sensing that Betty wants to speak to Jughead alone.

"How about you and me and Uncle Archie go and get an ice-cream, sweetie?"

Bailey gives her aunty a " _yes please_!" and a squeal of excitement at the idea as she is transferred from her mother's arms to Veronica's.

"Thanks V... Please make sure you don't take your eyes off her for a second" Betty quickly murmurs to her friend's before pressing a final kiss to her daughter's cheek. "Be good, baby."

Then, taking a big, deep breath that she so desperately needs, Betty turns back the way that she came from, returning to where the shell-shocked father of her child has not moved a single muscle as he stands in the very center of Riverdale's town square.

Without saying a single word, Betty and Jughead come to some silent agreement to find a place nearby to sit and talk about everything that quite clearly needs to be said. So, they find a quiet park bench just a few metres away from where they have spent the last few, life-changing minutes. As they take a seat, side-by-side, the two of them stay in total silence until Jughead finally speaks up and raises his voice for the very first time since Betty had raced over to himself and Bailey which had triggered his shocking realisation.

"You were pregnant?" Jughead chokes, as his shaky voice speaks up in an insecure whisper. They both remain silent as he pauses, momentarily, before speaking up once again, rephrasing his question with more certainty.

"She's my daughter, _isn't she_?"

Betty looks over to Jughead with one, brief, heartbreaking glance. At first, she can only manage to give him a small, silent nod before she finally manages to croak her confirmation in the quietest whisper.

"She's ours..."

The confirmation from the mother of his child instantly results in Jughead furling forward on the park bench that they are seated on, looking winded by the revelation. Curled over in the seat, Jughead holds his hands over the hat on his head, his head rested in his forearms.

As Betty suppresses her own nerves, she tries to focus on explaining and getting all the information that she can across to him after four years of not having the opportunity to tell him anything.

"I tried to tell you Jughead. I promise you that I tried to tell you about her. I spent months and months trying to find you, trying to contact you during my pregnancy –just ask anyone- and then I tried after she was born. I promise."

It's not sinking in. Jughead Jones does not hear a _single_ word that Betty Cooper is saying to him.

She doesn't notice the way that Jughead's eyes glaze over and she doesn't take note of the way that his breathing has deepened significantly from where he's sitting on the bench beside her. She doesn't notice any of it until he stands up from where he had been seated beside her and begins pacing in front of the park bench that they had been sitting at, glancing back over to Betty as he struggles to breathe, let alone speak the words that he tells her next.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. _I can't_. I'm sorry, Betty. I'm so, so sorry..."

Jughead utters the blur of mumbled words as Betty sits there, watching on in confusion and disbelief.

The next thing that Betty knows for sure is that she's watching on helplessly as Jughead begins to leave. Then, within moments, _he's gone... J_ ust like one other particular night over four years ago...

#

It takes Betty a long, long time to gain enough composure to simply get up and walk over to where her friends are seated with her daughter back at the ice creamery stall, the three of them eating ice creams together.

However, when Veronica catches sight of her best friend and even before she sees Betty's reddened, tear-filled eyes, Veronica knows that something's wrong. So, she quickly hands her friend's daughter to husband and races over to Betty, throwing her arms around her shattered friend whose world has come crumbling down all over again in the biggest hug.

"What happened, B? What did he say? Where _is_ he?!"

"He did what Jughead Jones does best... _He left_."

#

After leaving Betty behind at the park bench in the middle of the town, Jughead has no idea where he's going or what he's doing. But, upon finding a secluded spot, Jughead finally comes to a grinding halt, crushed by his guilt and remorse of realising not only _what_ he left behind, but _who_ he left behind...

All those years ago, he had left Riverdale to protect Betty. Then, he stayed away because he had left her so terribly in the first place. But, despite the fact that he had never told her that he was leaving and despite the fact that he had never said goodbye to Betty -or anyone else for that matter- a part of Jughead has always somewhat felt at peace over the last four years, believing that he had at least been trying to do the right thing by Betty when he left...

 _But_ , Jughead had not factored Betty being pregnant into that.

He had not factored _their daughter_ into that.

Jughead had not realised that by leaving Riverdale, not only was he leaving _Betty_ , but he was leaving Betty with their unborn child, too, his daughter that he had unknowingly abandoned for the first three-and-a-half years of her life...

Jughead's world comes crashing down as _he_ falls to the ground... He's angry. He's completely furious with himself... He's grieved with how much of his little girl's life he has lost... He's devastated for Betty and all the sacrifices she has made on behalf of their daughter... He's petrified by sudden fatherhood...

Then, when the first tear springs from Jughead's blue eyes, it sparks the deluge that follows it, unable to stop the uncontrollable flow...

... He cries for himself; he cries for all of the years, all of the moments and all of the pieces of his daughter's life that he has missed out on.

... He cries for Betty; he cries at the thought of her strength, having to be a mother, having to fill the void of a father, having to be a nurturer, a provider and a rock for so long, all on her own and when she was still so young herself.

... He cries for his daughter; he cries for the little girl who has spent all those days and all those nights of her life so far not knowing a father's love and protection, not knowing the feeling of adoration at being a daddy's little girl and not having the strength and protection of a father, knowing he'd be there for her and her mother, _no matter what_.

So, despite his free-flowing tears, a broken Jughead reaches up for the receiver from where he is collapsed on the ground, finding himself in the very same phone booth at a bus station that he had broken down in once before, over four years ago.

After Jughead struggles to dial a familiar number, the phone doesn't ring for long before an older man in Oklahoma answers the call.

"Hello?"

Jughead doesn't make any small talk and he doesn't even tell Doug who is calling. He's too overcome with his deluge of grief and guilt to even consider it as being important before he begins wailing the same three words into the receiver, over and over and over and over again...

"I left. I left them... I left them. I left them... I left them. I left them. _I left them_..."

* * *

 **He knows! I hope you all liked the way that things came out and the way that Jughead finally realised he's a dad. So many questions from here on! Will Bailey learn who her father is? Will Jughead leave town or will he try to be a part of Bailey's life? Will Betty let him? Let me know what you think!**

 **This one was a tough one to write. So much emotion and so much pressure. It's such a tragic situation for both Betty and Jughead and I hope I did it justice. Also, I hope you liked the little father-daughter snippet with Jughead and Bailey having a few minutes together.**

 **Once again, the biggest of thank you's to everyone who left some feedback on the last chapter. I am so grateful for the response and the support. Thank you!**

 **Next chapter: Everyone faces the aftermath of the day before. Archie and Veronica are on damage control as Betty's world crumbles down. And, how will Jughead handle things after learning that he's a father?**


	12. When Morning Comes Around

**CHAPTER TWELVE – When Morning Comes Around**

A daughter... He _has_ a daughter. He _is_ a father.

These are the three facts that Jughead Jones has spent the last eighteen hours struggling to wrap his head around.

The following morning, if it not for the fact that Jughead has woken up in his childhood room that has been given a distinctively girly touch, Jughead would put it all down to one, strange nightmare that makes a little too much sense...

But, that's not the case.

Since morning has rolled around following the day that Jughead had yesterday, he's woken up feeling _heavy_. He feels lethargic and exhausted, despite having spent over twelve hours sleeping... He feels hung-over, despite not having touched a single drop of alcohol... He feels like his world has come crashing down...

Waking up in his old bedroom, seeing the pink linen on his bed, along with a handful of children's stuffed animals beside him and then the dolls in the corner, Jughead sees the evidence of a child –a little girl in his father's home- and he's only reminded of the truth that yesterday had revealed.

Then, it's only _after_ analysing his surroundings when Jughead realises that while he might know _where_ he is -even despite the girly touches that have been made to his old room- he still has no idea _how_ or _when_ he got there, only knowing that he must have ended up in his father's trailer sometime after leaving Betty at Riverdale's seasonal market.

As Jughead looks around him, he notices that the room is not quite an interior design masterpiece, despite being redecorated. It still strongly resembles the room that Jughead had left behind all those years ago, just featuring a random assortment of children's toys and various shades of pink. You can easily see the way that FP had just hit the shops and set out on a mission to personalise the bedroom a little for his granddaughter, buying the first things that caught his eye and just throwing them all together to transform Jughead's bedroom into a space for Bailey on the days that she spends with her grandfather.

Just mere moments after waking up and looking around, comparing his old room with his current surroundings, Jughead's head falls back down to his pillow with a flop. It's like the weight of his head has grown too great, too much to handle, too much to hold up and support for any longer. It's _all_ just too much...

Even though his head has crashed, Jughead's thoughts haven't. The transformation of his room all but forces him to think about the child he had met yesterday...

There's no question of paternity, there's no thought of DNA tests. As if looking at that the little girl that he had helped yesterday hadn't been proof enough and as though he doesn't know Betty well enough to know that something so serious would never be a matter that she'd lie about, deep down Jughead himself _knows_ that that little girl is his daughter. He has no doubt.

So, instead, the question _really_ is whether or not he wants to do anything about that discovery... Where to from here?

After Jughead's head flopped back down to the pillow, he allows his head to rest there for a few moments before pulling himself up once with a groan, forcing himself to roll out of bed and face the real world...

Hearing movement in the trailer as Jughead leaves his former room, his father's head pricks up and looks through the hallway from where he's standing at the stove-top frying bacon and eggs, looking up just in time to see the docile young man surfacing.

"How are you travelling this morning?"

Jughead gives his father some sort of non-reply, just making some sort of noise that passes as an acknowledgment without resembling an actual word or coherent response in answer to his question.

FP exhales a little sigh at his son's attempt to dodge the question but he doesn't let him off so easily, instead pushing the matter further.

"So... I take it you spoke to Betty. You weren't in any state to talk about it when you came in last night."

FP is a little uncomfortable as he pushes the issue with his son, nervously scratching the back of his head with one hand while simultaneously flipping a piece of bacon with the spatula in his other. The father and son have never had a greatly emotional connection or relationship. So, trying to deal with the state that his son had been in when he entered the trailer last night is new and uncomfortable territory for FP.

He imagines that they _both_ want to be able to suppress it as much as each other does and avoid it for as long as they can, being typical boys, dodging the issues. However, despite his discomfort, FP knows that it's something that he _needs_ to do...

After all, when Jughead stumbled into his trailer last night, FP couldn't comprehend much of what his son was saying and he couldn't understand his mumbled words through his wails. Jughead had headed for his father's place after he left from the phone booth at the bus terminal after calling Doug and the young man was still in a similar, distraught state as when he had called his housemate in Oklahoma.

Yet, despite everything that FP _couldn't_ understand from Jughead yesterday, he had at the very least been able to determine that his son had learnt of his own daughter's existence and FP knows that it's more than likely that that discovery had been the reason behind the state that Jughead was in the previous night.

"I spoke to Betty? _Yeah_... I guess you could say that."

Despite the pause in answering his father, Jughead keeps his response succinct and to the point. He answers the question, but he fails to elaborate on it _whatsoever_. He's not even sure if he feels ready to talk about it just yet. Consequently, Jughead keeps it brief and he keeps his answer closed, giving his father little room to elaborate easily.

After he answers him, Jughead moves past FP, ignoring his intense stare as he walks further into the kitchen and over to the fridge door as he helps himself to food in his father's trailer as a distraction. However, Jughead's plans are foiled as his focus is drawn to the top half of the fridge –the freezer door- while he opens the bottom half of the unit. Instead, Jughead's focus becomes glued to the fridge door and he freezes on the spot when he lays eyes on a cluster of photographs...

Among the photographs, there are only three that stand out to Jughead. He's uninterested in the ones of himself, he took most of the ones with Jellybean and he's seen the ones of his father's younger years many, many times before in old photo albums.

Although Jughead knows his father has never been a big one for photos and happy snaps, he shouldn't be surprised by the collection of photographs on his fridge. After all, he does vaguely recall the little girl mentioning something yesterday about how she recognised him from his photo at her Grandpa's house. Then, it's a process of elimination. After all, he can't exactly imagine Hal Cooper littering his family's home with Jughead's photo. But, what really takes Jughead aback is the fact that he didn't realise that it's a two-way street. While his daughter had recognised _his_ photo on display, here he is recognising _hers_.

The first image that catches Jughead's eye is one of his father, looking exactly the way that he remembers him as before he left for Oklahoma. As he studies the photo, Jughead recognises the decor and the flood of pastel perfection that is surrounding him; he can tell that he's in the Cooper's living room. The photo shows his father beaming proudly. FP is holding a tiny, pink, little bundle that Jughead can fairly safely assume belongs to _him;_ the baby safely enclosed in a mountain of blankets. His father is positively _glowing_ in the photo.

The next shot that catches his eye is one of a mother and daughter. It's the sort of photo that you can't _help_ but smile at... Two beautiful girls with beaming smiles that light up their faces, their eyes and their lips. The bond and the love between mother and daughter is so beautifully evident in the photo. With their heads closely pressed together, side-by-side, it's hard to tell where one girl's blonde hair stops and the other's hair starts. Yet, the thing that surprises Jughead is the fact that when he laid eyes on the little girl on the right side of the image for the first time yesterday, he was struck by how much she reminded him of the woman beside her in the photo. However, seeing the two side-by-side, Jughead is amazed at just how different they look.

The final photo that catches Jughead's eye is just a portrait shot of a tiny, blonde, little girl who is smiling happily in the camera, the photo capturing her mid-giggle. Judging by the fact that he'd seen the subject of the photograph yesterday, Jughead would guess that this particular shot is not that old, maybe a few months at the most.

Jughead becomes entranced as he looks at the glossy image intently, studying it closely. He can feel his breath hitch from within him at the sight before him as he tightens his grip on the fridge door, glued to the spot as he tries to focus on keeping himself upright and standing. He's overwhelmed.

 _She's beautiful_...

She reminds him of Betty again in this one, the way that her eyes light up as she smiles so brightly and happily. Her big, bright smile that radiates through her eyes as it spreads across her lips is the first thing that Jughead is drawn to about her. It's the sort of smile that makes you want to smile back; it's contagious. The next thing he notices about the little girl is that her eyes that are the perfect combination of his and Betty's. She has big, bright Bambi eyes like her mother, only in his shade of baby blue.

For just a moment, just a tiny, little _moment_ , a small smile sneaks past Jughead's defenses and curls on the corners of his lips. For just a moment, Jughead indulges himself in the briefest flicker of pride and joy as he looks at the photo of the child that he had helped yesterday... The child that isn't just _any_ little girl... The child that is _his_ little girl.

He _made_ her. He and Betty made _her_.

Jughead enjoys that moment, that flicker of paternal pride. But, it's over almost as soon as it begins, when reality sinks in...

 _Yes_ , he and Betty made that little girl. But, _he_ had abandoned her.

With a deep breath followed by a sigh, Jughead attempts to suppress his own guilt by snapping his focus away from the photo and over to his father.

"So you knew" Jughead snaps, abruptly shutting the fridge door without retrieving a single item from it as he turns back to face his father.

"Yeah... Not long after you left town and a few weeks into my prison sentence, she came to visit me. She was desperate. She was looking for you or anyway to get in contact with you. That was the day that she told me she was having your kid. Then, when I got out, I reached out to her, I asked to be a part of their life and I was fortunate enough for Betty to allow that to happen. She never tried to shut you or shut me out of that little girl's life. She _wanted_ for her to know her family. She even lets me have for the whole day once a fortnight."

Jughead is still grappling with seeing the photos of his daughter on his father's fridge. He's still just trying to wrap his head around the fact that he has a daughter at all. So, when FP starts telling him all about the past and the years he has missed out on, it's all a little too much, too soon for Jughead and he snaps harshly at his father.

"You saw me days ago. You knew I had a kid and you knew I didn't have a clue about that! Why the hell didn't you say anything, dad?!"

FP sighs, turning the stove-top off completely before he rubs his hand over his scrunched up face.

"Look, I might have stepped in and intervened if she refused to say anything, but telling you about your daughter was a right that belonged to Betty. You're my boy and I'm on your side, Jughead... But, I have a loyalty to those girls as well and I need to look out for them, too."

Sometime between flaring up after he last spoke and now, Jughead seems to have lost his momentum. His anger has fallen flat and he doesn't bother speaking or saying a single word in answer to his father.

Instead, Jughead barely even notices how his focus turns back to the photos on the fridge, looking over the three particular ones that steal his attention. But, while Jughead might not have noticed his subconscious pull towards the photos, his father _does,_ a soft look forming on his face. FP doesn't wait for his son to respond before he continues to speak.

"I must say, at first, I was not too thrilled that the two of you made me a grandfather so young. But, Jughead, that little girl more than makes up for it..."

Briefly stealing his eyes away from the photos on the fridge, Jughead glances over to his father just in time to see the genuine smile on his father's face. FP's face has lit up proudly solely at the mention of his beloved granddaughter.

"Yeah, well, I think you can guess that she wasn't quite a part of _anyone's_ plan."

Jughead's comment may _sound_ both a little cold and a little bitter, but _he_ is not. He isn't resentful of his daughter's existence, but, rather, he is only stating the hard truth. After all, it's a matter of fact that very few sixteen and seventeen-year-olds would have intentionally set out to have a baby at that age. Jughead Jones most certainly hadn't, nor had Betty Cooper.

Consequently, little Bailey had never been a part of the equation when her father decided to leave town and leave her mother, unknowingly leaving a single mother and their daughter behind him.

"I didn't _know_ , dad..."

FP can tell how raw and how sincere his son's words are. As he looks up to his father, Jughead almost looks a little scared, with his blue eyes filled with pain and desperation.

The way that the son looks up to his father almost reminds FP of Jughead as a child, looking up to him when he had a problem he didn't know how to fix or when something seemed enormously overwhelming to a child. All too soon in his childhood, Jughead stopped depending on his father and turning to him support. And now, it's far too late. The father doesn't _have_ a solution for his son's problem. There is no easy fix or way to go back on Jughead's situation that is so far from childlike. Yet, almost feeling as though he has failed his son, FP remains silent while Jughead continues to speak.

"I swear I didn't know that she was pregnant. I didn't know I was leaving both of them. If I had known, I-"

Jughead stops and cuts himself off mid-sentence as his voice grows coarse, thick with emotion. He knows that there's no point in wishing for the impossibility of the ' _what ifs_ ' and reflecting on ' _if I could turn back time..._ ' Because, at the end of the day, _nothing_ will take back the past... Nothing will change things for Jughead, for Betty or for Bailey, _no matter what_.

"... Well, things just would have been much different."

FP nods, taking a step closer towards his son. His eyes are intense and serious as he claps a firm hand on Jughead's shoulder to support him.

"Now that you _do_ know about her, what are you going to do about it? Don't you dare tell me you're just gonna head back to Oklahoma and bury your head in the sand."

"Well what else am I supposed to do?! They seem to be doing just fine without me. My kid's better off without a dad... Or, at least she's just better off without _me_."

With his hand still clapped to Jughead's shoulder, FP doesn't hide his scoff or the fact that he thinks his son's comment is ridiculous.

"Don't give me that rubbish, Jughead. I know you're hurting, but man up. They're getting by because they _have to_. Betty is doing her damned best for them, but life hasn't been easy for her. And, it's about damned time that that changed."

#

When the father of her child left her once again after learning about their daughter's existence, Betty was understandably a wreck. Jughead upping and leaving her this time is the crescendo of four years of suffering and pain as a result of him.

Consequently, Veronica had offered for herself and Archie to take Bailey for a sleepover at their place that night, offering for them to have Bailey until the young mother feels on top of things again.

The newlyweds are currently occupying the little girl with some colouring on the following day. Veronica has just made Bailey's lunch, she's already painted the little girls nails and she and Archie are planning to put a movie on for her soon to see if she'll settle and have a day nap.

However, their plans are interrupted by a knock at the door.

"I'll get it" Veronica offers. Archie's currently colouring in with Bailey on the ground, the colouring book resting on the coffee table, while Veronica is sitting on the lounge, watching them both.

As she gets up and answers the front door, Veronica opens to the young man with bleary, reddened eyes that reveal that Betty's not the _only_ one who has struggled with tears over the last twenty four hours. He doesn't care.

"Can I talk to Archie?" Jughead asks quietly, his voice thick. He knows that he has absolutely _no_ chance of asking Veronica for what he needs. Archie may not give it up, either, but he's definitely far more likely to than his wife is. If worse comes to worse, he can always go back to his dad, but after their intense conversation and the push that Jughead needed, he wanted to steer clear of his father and his encouragement.

In response to his presence, Veronica looks _furious_. Steam might as well be pouring out from her ears. In fact, she stays silent, knowing that his daughter is in earshot in the next room over and if she were to speak to him, there's no way that her words would be civil. So, Veronica weighs up her options for a moment, releasing a huff before stepping aside from the door to let Jughead walk in. She'll throw him out at the first sign she can.

Stepping into the hallway of the Andrews' home, Jughead looks into the front room of the home that he spent much of his own childhood in, including the last few months before he left. There, sitting in the lounge room, Jughead instantly catches sight of his oldest friend, crouching down at the coffee table, sitting beside the little girl he'd helped yesterday. The two are colouring-in Bailey's colouring book and she's currently telling him off, educating him on the fact that Belle's hair is meant to be brown; _not_ black.

"Babe, can you handle this? I'll take over with her" Veronica asks the question to catch her husband's attention and alert him to their visitor as she walks over to him and Bailey.

It's a good thing that Archie doesn't wait for Jughead to speak up before his attention is caught. Because, if it wasn't for Veronica speaking up, Jughead doesn't know if he'd ever move from where he finds himself drawing to a standstill. He can't take his eyes off of where they are glued to the little girl who is colouring distractedly... _his_ little girl.

Archie's eyes fly up to his wife and he instantly catches sight of Jughead standing beside her. However, at Veronica's words, Archie isn't the only one whose attention is caught.

Bailey's eyes look up too and as she spots the man standing in the doorway between the hallway and the lounge room, her face lights up with familiarity. The little girl instantly recognises Jughead not only as the boy in the pictures on her grandfather's fridge, but also as the man who stopped to help her yesterday.

"Hi hat man!" Bailey says with a big smile and a little wave in his direction, where he's watching her from afar.

"Hey..." Jughead rasps nervously, returning Bailey's wave far more hesitantly.

He is too distracted by the little girl in front of him that he doesn't notice how Archie and Veronica have traded places and he doesn't notice that his best friend is by his side until he speaks up, breaking his trance from his daughter.

"Follow me."

Archie's words aren't a request or an offer... They are an _order_ to follow him as he leads them through the house and out to the backyard. Jughead notes that apart from a new outdoor setting, the backyard of Archie's childhood home looks no different than it did the last time he saw it.

However, Jughead is quickly jolted from his thoughts as the red-head blasts him.

"What are you playing at, Jughead? What the hell do you think that you're doing?!"

Like when he visited Archie on the day that he arrived back in Riverdale, it is awkward and distant between the two old friends. However, Archie's warmth and relief at seeing him for the first time in years has been replaced with disappointment and anger as he continues grilling Jughead before he has a chance to reply.

"You left Betty. _Again_. What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I know" Jughead sighs. "That's why I'm here. I need you to give me her address. Or just her number even, anything... I need to see her. I need to explain."

Archie looks at Jughead equally as serious as he is intent. He reads his old friend and searches through his motives to determine how serious he is and whether he warrants knowing Betty's details.

With a sigh of defeat, Archie makes the decision to succumb.

"3 Barber Street. You damn well better not make things worse..." Archie warns, instantly fearing that he's made the wrong call in giving Jughead Betty's address, knowing his wife and his best friend will kill him is he's only aided Jughead in making everything worse.

"In fact, it may already be too late. You've done a spectacular job of screwing things up."

Jughead sighs, his face serious as he tries to hide the effect that Archie's stabbed words have on him.

"I know... That's why I've got to go now. In the very least, I need to try."

At that and with his final words, Jughead doesn't hesitate in leaving and going back the way that he came from earlier, beginning to walk back inside with his focus set on heading out the front door and straight for 3 Barber Street.

However, the red-head has other ideas as he quickly grabs his friend's attention before it's too late.

"Juggie" Archie says, stopping Jughead in his tracks as his friend turns back to look at him, seeing the sudden softness to his face. "Congratulations..."

Jughead looks to his friend with a furrowed brow and curious expression as he tries to make sense of Archie's remark before he continues speaking.

"You're a dad... _Congrats_. She's a great kid."

The smallest of smiles peeks through on the corners of Jughead's lips. Just like earlier that day when he was looking at the photo of the little blonde girl, Jughead can feel just a little bit of pride bubbling deep within him, no matter how small his role in that little girl's life is.

"Betty's done amazingly with her. She's such a good little girl, Jug. Don't screw this up. Don't let her down... Don't let _either_ of them down."

* * *

 **Sorry, I was hoping that this one would be up a little sooner than this. But, this chapter is actually very, very different to the original chapter twelve and I've spent the last week changing the sequencing up and adding more to it. I hope you like it. I felt like Jughead needed to process Bailey's existence and debrief a little with FP (and get a kick up the backside from him!) before he even tries to deal with it.**

 **Big, big thank you to everyone who left a review on the last chapter. Your feedback means the world to me and I really appreciated all the positive feedback on the last chapter as I was feeling the pressure to make sure it was perfect. Thank you!**

 **Next chapter: Jughead tries to reach out to a devastated Betty. How will she respond? Is it too late?**


	13. Too Late

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN – Too Late**

With her closest friends babysitting her daughter since the previous afternoon, Betty let herself come crashing down on her own after Jughead left her yesterday. Since then, she's tried to find the strength within herself to pick up the pieces and to be able to put on a brave face for her daughter once again.

Betty had thought that Jughead's return to Riverdale had knocked her around and she thought that meeting at _Pop's_ with him had been painfully hard. But, that was _nothing_ compared to the shattering heartbreak she experienced yesterday, watching him walk away from her for the third time, just moments after he learnt about their daughter's existence.

However, the thing is that it isn't just Betty's pain. It's the fact that he found out about Bailey and _he walked away_.

Before then, Betty always knew that she could tell her daughter that she had tried, but she hadn't been able to tell her father about her. Before then, she could Bailey that it wasn't that her father didn't want her, but it was that he didn't even _know_ about her.

But, now, Betty is devastated at the prospect of one day having to tell Bailey the truth... Having to tell her beautiful daughter -who she would do anything to protect- that her father had rejected her, that he rejected them... That he saw her and yet, he left... _He walked away_.

When Betty hears the knock at her front door that afternoon, naturally she doesn't want to answer it. In fact, she very nearly succumbs to that urge, allowing herself to ignore whoever is on the other side. However, deep down Betty knows that if she doesn't open the door, she will be consumed with curiosity over wondering who it had been and why they were there.

So -praying it's not her mother to see her in her state-, Betty tightens her dressing gown around herself as she halfheartedly attempts to salvage her disheveled hair from the messy bun it had been thrown up into this time yesterday, before swiping at her damp eyes, taking away the tears and just leaving the redness of her puffy eyes.

Almost as quickly as she twists the door-handle to open it, Betty is once again trying to close it as she catches sight of her visitor.

"Betty _please_ -" Jughead says, speaking frantically as soon as the door is opened to him, before Betty butts in, along with her attempt to close the door.

"Go away, Jughead!"

Faced with a door closing in his face, Jughead lodges his shoe between the door and its frame, pressing his hands against the door to try and keep it from being shut further. He knows that if he doesn't at least _try_ to stop it, there's a lot more than just a door that could be closed to him.

"Please, Betty! Just wait. I'm sorry for walking off yesterday. But _please_. We have a lot of talking to do..."

From the other side of the door that had attempted to be closed, Jughead can feel the reduction in her resistance. The door is no less open, but he can feel her weight and strength slowly being stripped away from forcing the door to stay shut.

"Come on, Betts..." he encourages gently from the other side of the door. "We need to talk... For _her_ sake."

Jughead has unknowingly struck Betty in her Achilles heel. The young mother would do anything for her daughter; no matter the cost of the pain it brings upon herself.

So, after almost a minute of silence, slowly, the door begins to open into the mother and daughter's small home. As she opens the door to him, Betty presses a hand to her eyes and Jughead is unsure whether she is trying to block him out of her line of sight or if she's trying to stop a flow of tears from streaming through her still reddened eyes. The answer is the latter.

"Thank you..." Jughead says, growing a little sheepish and developing a sudden fascination with the ground as he walks through the door, entering the home.

After a moment, Jughead looks up to face his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child. There is barely a metre between them from where she stands in front of him, her arms wrapped around herself, holding herself, after having stepped away from the door that she has just let him into.

Four years of separation has done nothing to reduce just how well Jughead can read Betty, seeing just how weak she feels in that moment. Beyond her red, puffy, tear-filled eyes that are visible to the naked eye, Jughead can see the depth of her pain; he can see how four years of being strong for herself and for their daughter is wearing her thin. Not only Jughead can see it all, but he knows it's absolutely, one hundred percent, _all_ his fault.

So, Jughead holds his arms open and Betty all but collapses into his offering of comfort. Despite all of the pain, all of the secrets, all of the heartbreak and all of the years that have come between the former high school sweethearts, none of that matters as they share the hug that gives them the strength that they both need as much as each other.

Then, from where Betty's nestled into his arms as he holds her tightly in a warm hug, Jughead whispers to her quietly -but genuinely- telling her the words that he means with all of his heart.

"I'm sorry, Betty. I'm so, so sorry."

And, _he is_.

He's sorry for all of it... He's sorry for all of the pain that he's brought on her over the years... He's sorry for all of her struggle... He's sorry for leaving her without a word and without a trace... He's sorry for leaving her again after their reunion and he's sorry for leaving her yesterday when he couldn't handle the way his world came crumbling down after the realisation that he is a father...

There's a small sniffle from where Betty's head is nestled between the crook of his neck as she slowly musters up the strength to end the hug and pull back as she takes a few steps away, swiping away her fresh batch of tears that had been elicited from his apology just moments ago.

Pulling away from him, Betty sees the tentative tears that Jughead's own apology has triggered for himself, too, and she can see the way that his own eyes have grown red and moist.

"I'm sorry for the way I reacted yesterday. I should have told you that I needed time to think and wrap my head around everything. I shouldn't have just left. Now, I know I can give you excuses and I know I can tell you why I walked off, but none of that really matters because I know that I wasn't the only one having one hell of a day yesterday..."

Betty doesn't say a word; she just gives Jughead a small, slow nod. But, really, it's _not_ okay.

Nonetheless, Betty takes a few steps towards the dining table of her small home that she shares with her daughter, hoping Jughead will follow her lead and join her as she takes a seat at the table. Fortunately for Betty, he does.

As he takes small, slow steps towards the dining table that Betty is seated at, Jughead examines his surroundings in the open-room that comprises half of the mother and daughter's small home; including the kitchen, dining setting and living area. Looking around, Jughead takes in the overwhelming evidence of his daughter's existence in the room. He sees all the photos of Bailey at different stages of her life, the pieces of childish artwork, the children's toys and the growth chart on the side of the wall with little markings and dates.

Jughead takes a deep breath, struggling to believe that _this_ has been Betty's last four years. He can see the amount of effort that has gone into not only raising that little girl, but also in creating a safe, happy home for her.

The small, rundown home just emits a type of nurturing warmth... All the different arts and crafts activities that Betty had prepared for their little girl... The curtains that look handmade, like you'd see in a little cottage or bed-and-breakfast... The happy snaps of Bailey looking absolutely delighted... It all just radiates warmth and love.

However, beyond what he can see around him, Jughead doesn't know all the hours that Betty has poured into researching different, inexpensive arts and crafts projects in her efforts to keep their energetic little girl entertained and inspired... Jughead doesn't realise that there's a reason why the curtains look handmade; that it's because they _are_ handmade, seeing as Betty couldn't afford new curtains to replace the old, moldy ones when she moved into the home and so she had to make them herself... And Jughead doesn't know that the photos of Bailey where she looks the happiest are the times when Betty couldn't afford to give their daughter what she so wished she could... She couldn't _afford_ to take Bailey to the money-burning annual Riverdale fair and she couldn't _afford_ the rides and amusements and sideshows. So, instead, Betty spent the day taking Bailey to every different playground in an hour radius around Riverdale, finishing the day off with a picnic and a treasure hunt that she'd carefully designed, complete with a pirate after Betty persuaded Bailey's devoted Grandpa to dress up. Bailey still calls it her most favourite day.

When he finally sits down, Jughead takes a big, deep breath to try and manage his own overwhelming feelings as he looks to Betty.

"So... We're parents."

Jughead's statement is brief and simple. Yet, the notion behind it is anything _but_. In fact, he's still trying to comprehend the very fact for himself.

The expression that Betty gives him in response is neutral. It isn't a smile, it isn't a frown, but it is somber and her eyes tell so much more than her lips do.

"She's beautiful, Betty."

At Jughead's comment about their daughter, Betty takes a sharp inhale of breath that almost appears to pain her.

"I know... She's _perfect_."

Jughead gives her a small smile in return. A part of him is unable to hide his pride at the fact that _he_ had contributed to the little girl that had so politely thanked him for helping her find her mother yesterday... The little girl who had smiled and waved at him in such a friendly manner... The little girl who he is quite certain is far sweeter and way, way more beautiful than any other child he has ever seen before.

"Bailey. That's her name. Bailey Juliet."

At first, he gives her a knowing smile, the two of them knowing that their daughter's middle name had been his nickname for her all those years ago. Then, Jughead slowly and silently repeats her first name, savouring the feeling of his daughter's name on his lips.

"Bailey... I like it. Thanks for giving her a _normal_ name."

Betty just nods, the smallest of smiles gracing her lips at Jughead's remark over their little girl's name. She doesn't quite know what to say to that and she's still feeling reserved around him, so she just stays silent. He does, too, until he raises another question that he's desperate to ask her. He can feel himself stalling on raising the question to her if he doesn't seize the moment of silence and if he doesn't get it out quickly.

"Betts? Can you tell me something about her?"

Betty glances over to the father of her child, noting Jughead's interest and complete fixed attention before she begins speaking. He almost looks a little desperate in the silence between his raising the question and her telling him a handful of details about their daughter.

"Well... She's three-and-a-half. Her birthday is nine months after yours; the second of July. She must have inherited the Cooper punctuality gene, because she was born right on my due date."

Jughead listens to the detail and makes a mental note of the one day of the year that now holds a very different importance for him. In the silence, seeing the small smile on the corner of his lips prompts Betty to keep talking.

"She's a really good little girl. Life hasn't been easy, but I can't blame Bailey for that. She is a dream. Most of the time she's quite obedient and most of the time she's very easygoing... What else can I tell you? Well, she _loves_ reading. She's smart... She's not even at kindy yet, but she's already trying to learn to read; it actually really frustrates her that she can't. But, she can pick up some letters, she notices the odd word now and most recently, I've been teaching her to write her name."

A little smile quirks in the corner of Jughead's lips, reflecting the slither of pride in the wordsmith as he hears about his very own little bookworm.

While Jughead smiles, reflecting on everything that he has been told so far, Betty falls deep in her own thoughts. Then, looking to the man who she sees so much of in her daughter each and every day, Betty releases a deep and thoughtful sigh, wistfully.

"She's so much like you, Jug..."

" _Really_?"

"Well, people say Bailey's more like me in her manner and she has my blonde hair. But, other than that, she's all you... In her appearances, her little expressions, mannerisms, even her interests are very similar, too. She loves books, movies... I call her my little movie buff. I just see so much of you in her every, single day."

Listening to Betty fills Jughead's heart with warmth for a little girl that he didn't even know existed before yesterday, until something changes... It's like he feels a sudden shiver of pain that spreads throughout him as he comes to a sudden realisation from one simple fact.

"You didn't say anything. Two days ago, you sat through an entire evening with me and you didn't say a single _thing_. You let me get up and leave, knowing that I didn't know about Bailey... You were going to let me leave town without telling me about our daughter?! How about before I left Riverdale all those years ago? Did you already know you were pregnant? Did you _ever_ even plan on telling me about my kid?"

Betty face falls and her mouth drops open. She's setback by the sudden change in Jughead as he snaps, his eyes growing angry while he raises his voice at her indignantly.

He's hurting. He's lost three years of his daughter's life... But, she's hurting, too. She's spent those years that he has lost, hurting...

"Don't you dare, Jughead! Don't you _dare_ try and turn this back on me."

Betty's hiss is almost vicious. She is _furious_.

"Yes. I had one opportunity to tell you about her the other night and I didn't. I spent one day being content with the idea of you not knowing that she exists. But, I have spent the last four years dealing with and living with the fact that I had no control over telling you... Before you left, I didn't know I was pregnant. It was way too early for me to know. But, I spent weeks trying to find you after you left town and then after I found out I was pregnant, I spent months trying to get in contact with you. I wanted to tell you. I tried to. But, I _couldn't_."

Just moments ago, Jughead had been flared up and angry. There is so much pain and so much anger from the awful situation that they are both in. And, having seen the opportunity for blame, he took that and thrust it at Betty.

However, deep down, Jughead knows that he's got no one to blame but himself...

"I'm sorry, Betty... I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I was out of line. Yes, I don't agree with the fact that you didn't even try to tell me at _Pop's._ I'm hurt that I had to find out about Bailey for myself, by chance, and that I might not have found out about her if I didn't see her in town. But, I appreciate that you tried."

Betty nods silently and slowly. His apology doesn't work miracles and it doesn't heal four years of struggle for her.

"I _did_ try, Jughead... I tried everything I could for months... I sought out your family, our friends, your friends. I tried to start an investigation. I did everything I could think of, but nothing worked. Honestly, I have no idea how many times I tried calling you and messaging you after you left and then again after Bailey was born. But, all my phone calls and messages went unanswered or ignored and all my searches were in vain and brought no results. I mean, I had a fairly strong idea that you got rid of your phone after you left town, but I kept trying anyway. I wanted to stop you and I wanted to bring you home. But, in the very least, I wanted you to know about her..."

"Thank you for trying, Betty. If I had of known..." Jughead trails off, his head collapsing into his hands as he takes a big, raspy, deep breath and looks up to her again, continuing to speak. "I'm sorry for how much stress that would have put on you. I can't imagine..."

"You're right. You _**can't**_ imagine how much stress that put on me... I only stopped trying after I was hospitalised and after I almost lost her from the stress of it all. It was only then when I realised that I had to let go of trying to find you. Because, **you** left _me_. Sure, you didn't know about Bailey when you left, but you never gave me an opportunity to tell you."

Jughead looks down to the table, sheepishly and shamefully, releasing the deepest, heaviest sigh; reflecting the weight of the world that is resting on his shoulders. Hearing the other side of the story, he feels sick his stomach to think that he had laid into her about the one, fleeting moment that she had to tell him about their daughter.

"I'm sorry for everything, Betty. All of this is my fault, _I know_. And, if anything had happened to her or if you had of lost her back then, I know that that would have been on me, too... I am so, so, so incredibly sorry for everything about the last four years. But, I know there's no amount of apologising that will ever be enough."

Looking up to him from the other side of her dining table, her emerald green eyes lock with his baby blue ones. She takes a deep breath and he can tell that she is trying her very best to hold back and stop the deluge of threatening tears. Then, releasing her breath of air, Betty eyes close a little as she is overcome by a resonating sense of peace and calm.

"I appreciate your apology, but _it's okay_ , Jughead. I don't need you anymore... **We** don't need you anymore."

A frown spreads across Jughead's face, scrunching up as his eyebrows furrow. It's as though he can't understand what she's saying. Just moments ago he saw the look of peace that had flooded across her face. However, Jughead hadn't realised that it was a look of _acceptance_ , rather than a view to _resolution_.

"Betty... I want to make up for lost time. I want to be there for you and Bailey. _Please_ let me try. I won't leave... I won't let you down. Let me prove that to you. Let me be there for you both."

Betty takes another deep breath, becoming a little firmer in her body language. However, she can't control the way her eyes begin to water and tear up and she can't control the tears that slowly streak down her cheeks as she quivers emotionally.

"I needed you when I was crying on the bathroom floor, holding a pregnancy test all on my own... I needed you when I was hospitalised from the stress early on in my pregnancy, when I was terrified of losing her before I even had her and I needed _you_ when no one else could relate to the fear I had in that moment... I needed you when I held our baby girl on the happiest day of my life, when I realised that one day I was going to have to explain to her why she doesn't have a daddy like everyone else... I needed you when she was eighteen months old, in hospital, and I was scrambling to find money after being told if they didn't operate, she could have lost her hearing and gone deaf... I needed you _then_ , Jughead."

Listening to Betty's words and listening to her pain breaks his heart for all that she has suffered and all the pain that still affects her so deeply, resulting in the stream of tears that are following from her eyes.

And, though Jughead can see _her_ tears and though he can see the moisture in her eyes as they trickle down her cheek, he doesn't even realise the glossiness of his own eyes that she can see in _his_ as she delivers the final heartbreaking truth.

" _That_ was when I needed you, Jughead. But, we don't need you anymore."

* * *

 **That was a pretty tough chat that Betty and Jughead really needed to have, facing the tough truths and all the problems that have been brewing over the last four years. He needed to know all the pain she's experienced as a result of him leaving and she really needed to get that off her chest. Do you think Betty is right to push Jughead away from herself and Bailey? Do you think Jughead will fight her decision? Will she change her mind?**

 **Thank you very much to everyone who left a review with their thoughts on the last chapter. I really appreciate the support and the feedback inspires me enormously to not only write but to also get the next chapter up faster.**

 **Next chapter: Jughead has an opportunity to spend some time with Bailey. Then, the reason why Jughead left Riverdale is finally revealed! What is it? ... All I'll say is it'll go on to ultimately make or break whether or not Jughead has a chance of having some part in Bailey's life.**


	14. Extensions Of Trust

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN – Extensions Of Trust**

After Jughead's visit to Betty, the young girl spent the remainder of her day trying to get in control of herself and her emotions, trying to push Jughead and all of the issues and questions that have been raised over the last few days out of her mind.

It doesn't work _._

Betty ended up spending all night tossing and turning, back and forth, sleeplessly.

Yesterday she had been so black-and-white with Jughead. She was hurting and she felt insistent on him knowing that he wasn't needed in hers or their daughter's life anymore. She couldn't rely on him after so many years of learning how not to. After all, he wasn't there when they did need him, so they got by without him.

However, as she lay awake and as she tossed and turned that night, the ever-forgiving young girl had been forced to see all the grey areas surrounding the brash conclusion that she had come to.

Consequently, the following morning, Betty feels moved to pick up the small, paper card -a business card- that Jughead had left on her kitchen bench the previous day. He told her to use it if she or if Bailey ever needed him, despite the fact that she had told him frankly that he is no longer needed in their life anymore.

As Betty picks the card up, she studies it for a moment and reads its contents before dialing the number on the bottom of the business card into her phone.

 **THE OKLAHOMA PRESS**  
Forsythe Jones – Correspondent

Although he is fast asleep when he hears the first rings of his phone, after seeing who is calling him Jughead picks it up immediately. Then, Betty is just as quick to speak into her phone, before she loses her nerve.

"Hey. It's me... _Betty_. Are you still in town? Or have you left for Oklahoma already?"

"I'm still here. Why?" he asks, his voice thick from sleep.

Betty closes her eyes -despite the fact it's only a phone call- as she takes a deep breath and then releases it. She can't back out now.

"Good... But, look, I always have Sunday's off from work and Bailey and I have a little tradition of going to _Pop's_ for brunch on Sunday. So, if you'd like to, you can join us there for brunch today..."

Jughead is quick to respond. However, he tries not to let his enthusiasm seep into his voice too much at the prospect of a proper meeting with his daughter.

"So that Bailey and I can meet each other properly?"

There's a silence and an awkward pause between Jughead's question and Betty's answer. Then, after clearing her throat, she speaks up uncomfortably.

"Well, _no_... It's so that Bailey can meet her mum's friend, _Jughead_ , properly" Betty clarifies uncomfortably, thankful that the moment is made just a little less awkward by the fact it is over the phone.

In the silence that follows Betty's response, Jughead reads between the lines of what his ex-girlfriend is telling him. She's offering for him to hang out with her and their little girl, but only as a friend, only as a relative stranger and only if his daughter knows him as 'Jughead', not as her father...

Jughead tries to cushion himself from the pain of the fall at his disappointment.

"Oh... _Right_. I see... That's okay."

Even in his string of six words, Betty can hear the difference in his tone of voice between his last question and his response to her answer.

"I'm sorry... I know that you're Bailey's dad and I respect that you have rights, but that's the best that I can offer you right now. Because, quite frankly, I can't tell my daughter that you're her father when considering your track record, there's a 99% chance you'll just up and leave her. I can't do that to Bailey. I can't trust you and I can't trust you not to hurt her, too... But, if you want, you can meet her properly. I just thought that you might be interested in spending a little bit of time with her."

"Yeah, I would like that. What time?" Jughead keeps his answers succinct intentionally, trying to avoid letting his disappointment infuse into his tone of voice. If he speaks too much, he knows that Betty knows him far too well not to pick up on it.

After his response, there's a brief pause as Betty ponders his question over the phone, releasing a few little noises that signify that she's thinking about what answer to give him. The silence buys Jughead a little bit of time to gain just a little more composure.

"Well... Sleeping Beauty's not up yet. I'm just about to go in and wake her up, so maybe give us an hour?"

"I'll be there. Thanks for this, Betts."

#

Originally, Jughead had arrived at _Pop's_ twenty minutes early. However, as he sat there waiting, he started overthinking everything anxiously. One particular detail that he had began to overthink was Betty's wording during their phone call... After all, she had invited _him_ to join _them_. So, if they arrive and he's already there, then they would be the ones joining him...

At first, he just brushes his fears off. It's a minor detail. But, Jughead doesn't want anything to threaten his chances and he doesn't want to do anything that might stuff up his small opportunity. So, within ten minutes, Jughead is out of the booth and walking around the block aimlessly, waiting until five minutes after their agreed meeting time before he walks into _Pop's_ once again, in order to join _them_.

As he re-enters _Pop's_ this time, he makes a beeline for the booth on the opposite side of the diner to where he had sat initially. He approaches the booth where a certain young mother and her daughter are sitting together, talking to each other. The little girl erupts into giggles at something her mother has said just as Jughead approaches.

"Hi... Do you mind if I join you two?"

Betty looks up expectantly, giving Jughead a small smile. He knows the answer to his own question. Moments later, Bailey follows both the masculine voice and her mother's gaze. Then, as she catches sight of Jughead, Bailey's lips erupts into a smile from the presence of the familiar man before she looks to her mother, waiting for her answer.

"Of course... Take a seat."

Quickly, before she changes her mind, Jughead slides into the opposite side of the booth to where the mother and daughter had been sitting and waiting for him.

"Hi hat man! What's your real name?"

"Hi again, Bailey... My name is Jughead. Jughead Jones."

As soon as the words slip out of his mouth, Jughead's forehead creases into a little frown, cursing himself and his nerves. He realises that he must sound pathetic introducing himself to a three-year-old like he's James Bond.

However, at hearing his name, Bailey releases a little gasp as her mouth drops open., With the excitement evident in her facial expressions, the little girl turns to her mother, as if waiting for Betty to react too. Bailey's eyes are positively lit up with excitement.

From playing countless card games that involve finding matching pairs or two-of-a-kind, upon seeing or hearing things that match strikes the little girl as notable, much like it would for any child her age.

"We're matching! My name's Bailey _Joes_! We match!"

Whenever Bailey says her last name, she always fails to pronounce the 'N' in ' _Jones'_. Yet, despite that, Jughead knows _exactly_ what her surname is.

This time, it's Jughead's turn to look surprised as he looks to Betty for confirmation. After all, he had expected his daughter to be a Cooper and he expected her to carry her mother's surname, given that he was absent from both Betty's pregnancy and Bailey's birth. It would be completely reasonable for Betty to have given Bailey her surname over his... Yet, from across the booth, Betty gives him a slow, silent nod of confirmation. Jughead can't hide his smile of gratitude at the fact that -despite everything- she wanted their daughter to carry _his_ surname.

Unintentionally both Jughead and Betty fail to say a single word in response to Bailey's excitement, preoccupied with exchanging silent looks. However, the little girl doesn't let this deter her, only rephrasing her point in a different way this time. After all, she's used to doing that sometimes with her mother and vice versa in the moments when the fact that while the child's vocabulary is ever-growing, but still simple, can result in the occasional miscommunication.

"You got the same name as me!"

Betty doesn't correct her daughter on the fact that really, technically speaking, Bailey has the same last name as _him_ , rather than the other way around.

"Yeah, that's right... We are matching" Jughead eventually replies as the smile stays glued on the little girl's face. Just as any young child, Bailey is ever-excited upon determining matches and similarities between herself and others.

As that conversation draws to a close, Betty speaks up upon remembering that following the excitement over their surnames, Jughead's introduction to Bailey had gone interrupted.

"So, Bailey, Jughead's my friend who's just visiting for a little while..."

This time, hearing Jughead's first name a little more clearly without the distraction of the same surname, Bailey can't hold back another little giggle.

"That's a silly name" Bailey says honestly, consequently being simultaneously told off by her mother and spurned on by her father as he can't hold back his own deeper chuckle at the three-year-old's blunt remark.

"You're preaching to the converted, kid..." Jughead replies, the smirk etched into his expression.

Although Bailey has no idea of what he has just said or of what that means, hearing Jughead's laugh is something she _does_ recognise, consequently increasing her own giggle at the reciprocated amusement.

When Bailey's laughter eventually dies down, Jughead looks over to Betty to ask her another question that's on his mind.

"Have you two ordered yet?"

"No, I was just about to when you arrived."

At the reminder, Betty begins to shuffle out of her seat to get up and order until Jughead presses a sure hand onto the table of the booth, as if to try and stop her.

"Stay here, I've got this. Let me cover it."

"Juggie..." Betty disputes with a little frown. She appreciates his generosity but she doesn't want him to think she had invited him to join them solely for the purpose of shouting their meal, nor does she want him buying her trust or Bailey's affection.

However, Jughead doesn't let Betty's feeble protest distract him, continuing on with his mission, undeterred.

"Is it still a vanilla milkshake with bacon and eggs for you, Betts?" Jughead asks, receiving a begrudging pout and a nod from the older blonde, before turning and looking to the younger blonde. "How about you, Bailey? What would you like for breakfast?"

"Pancakes and staw-bey mil-shake... _Please_. Thank you Juggie."

Two pairs of eyes look to the little girl in surprise. Both Betty and Jughead are as surprised as each at hearing Bailey utter the nickname that her mother had used to her address her father just minutes ago, parroting the name.

It startles Betty more hearing Bailey address her dad by his nickname than it had when she introduced him to her as 'Jughead'. Although she knows that Bailey knows no different, Betty just can't get over just how odd it sounds for her daughter to be addressing her father by his name rather than his title to her.

Jughead, however, can't hold back the grin that naturally comes over his lips at hearing his own nickname that's reserved for his nearest and dearest, coming from his daughter.

"No worries, Bailey" Jughead eventually replies to the little girl, recovering from his surprise.

Then, he gets up and starts to shuffle out from his seat at the booth to make his way over to Pop Tate, placing and paying for their order. The grin hasn't left his lips.

"Alright, I'll be right back."

This time, when Jughead walks away, _he comes back_.

#

As the day progressed, brunch turned into a visit to the park, which turned into Bailey wanting to show her mummy's friend her favourite movie, which turned into Betty sheepishly realising that she had enough food to feed the three of them for dinner, which ultimately turned into the three of them spending the whole day together.

After dinner, Bailey had begun yawning a little earlier than usual. Betty didn't contest her daughter's tiredness, prompting her bath, bed, book and song night-time routine.

Then, after she successfully put her daughter to bed, Betty creeps out of Bailey's room to where the father of her child is waiting in the lounge room. Betty had offered for him to wait while she put Bailey down and he hadn't moved from his place on the lounge.

"She went down so much easier than usual tonight. Usually bedtime is when her brain _really_ gets going and she starts throwing all of life's big questions at me. I think we wore her out today."

As she approaches him, Betty rambles on to Jughead, sounding friendly and bubbly. However, her rambling is entirely induced by nerves and discomfort at not knowing how to act around Jughead. After all, it's going to take a long, long time for everything to return to a state that even slightly resembles 'comfortable'.

Continuing to babble on as she enters the lounge room where Jughead is sitting silently in the dark, both Betty's mouth and feet stop in their tracks when she notices the glint and gleam of moisture trailing down Jughead's cheeks as the light catches the side of his face in the darkened room.

It's quite clear and visible that Jughead has been crying for some of the time that Betty was preoccupied with putting their daughter to bed over the last half an hour.

"Juggie..." Betty rasps as she quickly joins him on her lounge. Despite all the pain that he has brought on her over the years, Betty can't play a game of tit-for-tat and she can't stop herself from reaching out to press a comforting hand to his shoulder, wanting to stop Jughead's own pain.

In all the years that she has known him, Betty can only remember two occasions upon ever seeing tears in his eyes and ever seeing him choose to take his beanie off his head. Yet, here he is, sitting in her lounge room, adding one more mark to both of those tallies, exposing his total vulnerability to her.

"Thank you, Betty. Thank you for having her, for keeping her, for giving everything up for her... Thank you for just _being there_ for Bailey."

Betty just nods at him. It's the best that she can do. It hasn't been easy. It never had been easy after falling pregnant at sixteen, facing the prospect of life as a single mother, before holding that tiny baby in her arms that she has gone on to give up everything for, each and every day. None of it was easy, but Betty would do it all over again for Bailey in a heartbeat.

As Betty remains silent, reflecting on her own struggles, Jughead seizes the moment and continues to speak and apologise.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there. I'm so sorry that I've left you two so many times. I want to explain myself to you. I think you need to know why I've left."

Betty nods gently, encouraging him as her hand on his shoulder begins to stroke calmingly and comfortingly. Even if Betty hadn't seen the evidence of Jughead's tears, she'd be able to tell just from his hearing his voice, noting the thick emotion and upset in his words.

"The last time I walked off -at the market- after you were trying to explain everything to me, it was my own stupid fault. It was so avoidable. I'm sorry. I was trying to process everything. I should have just asked you for some time to wrap my head around everything. But, my head just wasn't there and I was so overwhelmed with shock that I didn't stop to think about how you would have been feeling in that moment, too."

Once again, Betty nods, nipping her lip. When he walked away after he found out about their daughter's existence, it _hurt_. But, she wasn't expecting him to come back. And, as much as she can focus on her own feelings, deep down, Betty honestly can't blame him for the information overload. After all, it's not every day that you learn that you have a daughter.

"The time before that when left you at _Pop's,_ I was just an idiot. That waiter came over and started talking to you about Bailey... Not that it was the reason why I met up with you, but I made a few silly assumptions and I figured that Bailey was your boyfriend. I never would have guessed that you were talking about our daughter... Anyway, I felt like I was stepping on toes so I acted like an idiot and just took myself out of the equation and left."

Jughead shakes his head at himself and at his own actions as he releases a sigh. Betty can see the glint of fresh tears in his eyes and on his cheeks. She doesn't say a word, only listening intently as she waits for the reason she's looking for, the reason she's been seeking for four years, the reason why he left in the first place as he takes a deep, shaky breath.

"I'm so sorry, Betty. I'm not asking for your forgiveness. I can't ask that of you because I don't think I'm ever going to be able to forgive myself even."

"Jug..." Betty warns, trying to pull him back from his self-depreciating words and attitude.

"I don't expect your forgiveness, Betty, that's not what this is. But, you do deserve the truth. There's more to the story... You deserve to know why I left you; why I left both of you."

He takes a deep breath, while she keeps stroking and her hand on his shoulder has come down to a feeble grasp and hold on his hand.

"Yeah, I was hurt. But, it was more serious than that. I didn't just leave and cut contact with everyone because I was upset with you and Archie and my dad... I didn't just leave Riverdale for a fresh start and a new beginning... I left Riverdale for an ending."

In the darkness, Betty Cooper looks over to Jughead Jones, her big, green eyes growing scared and wide with fear. Her hold on his hand tightens noticeably and she doesn't let go. She wants to be wrong about where she thinks that his story is going and she asks him just that, hoping that he'll prove her wrong.

"Juggie... What are you saying?"

"I left Riverdale because..."

Jughead pauses. He has to take a deep breath, he has to try and control his emotions that haven't dissolved and haven't disappeared after four years, knowing that this is the very first time that he will be saying the words that he had spent such a long, long time thinking over _aloud_.

"I left Riverdale all those years ago because I was going to end my own life."

* * *

 **Boom. Poor Juggie! Who saw that one coming? I'd love to see what you all thought about why he left and whether or not anyone else had picked up on it before this chapter. Also, I know a lot of you were after more Jughead & Bailey interaction so I hope that you liked the little snippet of father-daughter time** **after Betty felt moved to allow him to meet her properly.**

 **Can I just say the biggest thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter. I still can't believe the response to this story, but it is so inspiring and encouraging. And, thank you for hitting 100 reviews! Honestly, I'm still surprised that _anyone_ wants to read my story! **

**Next chapter: In the wake of Jughead's heartbreaking revelation, we learn more about his last four years and _his_ side of the story. **


	15. The Thirteenth Of November

***TRIGGER WARNING***

 **Nothing is detailed graphically, but suicide/suicidal feelings are discussed and it's better to be safe than sorry.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER FIFTEEN – The Thirteenth of November**

" _I left Riverdale all those years ago because I was going to end my own life."_

As the confession, the truth, the reason why he had left his girlfriend and unknowingly abandoned their daughter finally spills from Jughead Jones's lips, the room falls to a total silence.

You can hear the slow tick-tock, tick-tock of the clock hanging in the kitchen nearby... You can hear the light rustling outside of leaves in the wind... If you focused on it hard enough, you could even hear a pin drop...

Finally breaking free from her trance after Jughead's truth had frozen her in place, Betty reaches out to touch him as she lays a gentle hand to his neck.

She can't stop herself from touching him. It's almost as though Betty _needs_ the confirmation to reassure herself that he isn't just a mirage, that he definitely _hadn't_ followed through with his purpose for why he left town in the first place and he really _is_ sitting there, by her side.

"Oh, Juggie..."

Her eyes that had been on the verge of watering and her tears that had been threatening to break free finally burst out of the corners of her eyes. Fresh, damp tears trail down Betty's cheeks, sliding and gliding as the moisture that is left behind glimmers in the dim lighting of her lounge room.

Despite the years of pain that the father of her child had brought on her after leaving her without a word or without a trace and despite the years of struggle that he had triggered by abandoning her with their daughter, in this moment, Betty doesn't feel a single slither of the hurt or resentment that she has harboured against Jughead for the last four years.

Rather, in this moment, Betty's heart is filled with heartbreak at hearing just how struck with his own grief her ex-boyfriend had been all those years ago when a teenage boy had felt that no way out was the _only_ way out.

"I'm so sorry, Betty. I'm sorry that I left you so awfully."

He's crying, too, unashamedly.

"I... I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought it would hurt you less if I just left than if you heard what I was going to do. I cut contact with you because I didn't want you to know why I left. I didn't want you to have to carry any guilt or blame and I didn't want you to be tormented by thinking what you could have done to stop me, -like I know you would have- because, it was **my** decision... I thought I was doing the right thing for me and I thought I was doing the best thing by you... I was so, so wrong, Betty, and I'm going to have to live with the consequences of that for the rest of my life."

Betty's chest rises and falls rapidly, feeling thick with emotion and devastation as everything she thought that she knew for so long and everything that she felt so justified in thinking and feeling about the father of her own child comes crashing down as she sees the full story...

For so long, Betty had felt that Jughead being painted as the bad guy was a deserved title, only seeing the fact that he left her without a goodbye and without a trace. After all, for so long, she only saw _her_ situation and she only felt the pain of _her_ side of the story.

So, hearing Jughead's side and seeing the big picture is overwhelming...

It changes _everything_. Everything she knew. Everything she thought she knew. Everything she harboured. Everything she felt. Everything she blamed him for...

But, above all else, Betty's heart just feels broken for the seventeen-year-old boy whose world had crumbled around him so much so that he felt like leaving town, leaving her and leaving his life behind to end it all was the only option available to him.

There's so much she wants to say and there's so much she wants to ask him. But, the one thing that Betty wants to convey more than anything else, she can't find the words to say... She doesn't even think that there _is_ any way to verbalise her relief and gratitude for the fact that he's sitting beside her, that he's still _there_...

So, Betty doesn't even try.

Instead, she holds her arms out and open to her high school sweetheart, the boy who had left her. Then, without hesitation, he takes hold of the olive branch that she has extended to him and he opens his own arms to her as the two collapse within each other, supportively.

In that moment, they are equally overcome with four years of built-up emotion as they sit there in tears, holding each other and hugging each other as they cry for themselves, for one another and for their daughter that they share...

Neither of them really knows how long it has been when both halves of the former couple finally calm down enough to pull apart from their embrace and the hug that they had been enclosed in as they supported each other in the fragile moments at the end of an emotional day.

After he pulls away from Betty, Jughead takes another big, deep breath, followed by a sharp sniffle in an attempt to regain his composure. Then, as he rubs his moist eyes, Jughead finds the courage to continue explaining the hard truth to Betty.

"After I left homecoming and ran away from school that night, I went to my dad's trailer and I just broke down. That was when I decided I was going to leave town. Originally, I was going to follow through with my plan to move to Toledo and be with my mum and Jellybean. So, when I got to the bus station I called my mum and told her I was coming... But, she told me not to come. She didn't want me to..."

Jughead pauses and takes a much-needed moment pf composure before he continues explaining as his eyes begin to fill with fresh, threatening tears that he can't control as they pool within his baby-blue eyes.

"I was going to call you and tell you that I was leaving after I called my mum. That was the plan... But, when she told me not to come, something changed... I broke down in the telephone booth at the bus shelter and that was the moment when something inside of me just pushed me off the edge and I _snapped_. Then, after that, I just felt calm... That was when I decided to leave anyway, just jump on the next bus and go wherever it took me... That was when I decided that wherever I ended up, I was going to end my life."

Betty bites her lip hearing the blunt words coming from him once again.

"How long had you been contemplating that for?"

Jughead takes a deep breath, followed by a sigh. With his beanie still on his lap, he runs his hands through his thick, dark hair reflectively as he thinks over Betty's question, deeply. He has to delve back into ancient history in order to give her an accurate answer.

"It wasn't the first time. I think suicide was something that was in the back of my mind for quite a while... It probably began around the time that my mum took Jellybean and left us. But, it was only ever a thought; an _option_ when I had others available to me. Then, the night of homecoming it went from being a thought to an action. I set a date and gave myself a month to live, to tie up my loose ends, to be sure about my decision and to do what I needed to."

Betty's breath grows shaky as she takes a big, deep breath of air in a feeble attempt to expel the guilt that is consuming her. Although her streaming tears had stopped a few minutes ago, once again Betty finds her emerald green eyes beginning to pool with fresh tears that threaten to fall. Her heart feels heavy with culpability and pain.

"I had no idea, Juggie..."

"Although it was an ongoing feeling, like a wave that would come and go, I hadn't felt that way for a while. Not after we started hanging out together again and not while we were together. I think the way that everything blew up at homecoming triggered it. It was too much, too fast... I couldn't cope with it and it _finally_ broke me. After all, when your mother rejects you, then you're hurt by your friends and your girlfriend all on the day that your father is arrested on murder charges, it doesn't leave you feeling like you have all that much left to live for..."

Betty stays silent, listening to him, her face soft, but serious. She wants to ask him what changed, what stopped him, what made him think twice about the resolve he had been so certain of. But, with so many unanswered questions, her mouth runs dry. She can't bring herself to say a word as she sits there in silence, her attention being entirely focused on listening to his every, single word, analysing his body language and every little expression as he continues to fill in the blanks of his past.

"My housemate in Oklahoma, Doug, he stopped me. He saw me, saw what I was going to do and he talked me down. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here... I had tied most of my loose ends up; I had left a letter for my dad, told him to make sure you didn't find out... In my mind, it was as good as done. And, if it wasn't for Doug, I would have done it. I would have killed myself that day... I owe him _everything_ , Betty. I owe him my life..."

Jughead doesn't even realise that they are clutching onto one another once again until he feels Betty's hold on him tighten at the impact of his words. Her body begins to tremble as she listens to him and her cheeks are glistening with fresh tears that stream down her face.

"Do you know what the craziest thing is? I can't even remember exactly what he said to me that day..." Jughead chuckles to himself over the fact that is anything but funny.

"Crazy isn't it? Whatever he said changed my life and made me see another way out, yet I can't even remember it. All I know is that Doug knew the right things to say. After all, six months before that, he'd lost his wife. He had found himself in the very same spot with the very same plan just months before I did. While I can't remember his exact words, all I know is that he showed me _hope_. He offered me a new start when all I saw was a dead end. He helped me to find a job and he offered me a room to board in at his house. I've spent the last four years there... He's become my best friend."

Although her big, green eyes are still damp and reddened, the smallest of smiles cracks through on the corner of Betty's lips. Despite years of her own grief that had been brought on as a result of her boyfriend leaving her all those years ago, after hearing the whole story, Betty is relieved to know that someone had been there for **him** when _he_ needed it more than ever.

Then, as she swipes at the flesh of her moist cheek and inhales a big, deep breath, Betty can't stop herself from asking the question that she needs to know. She _needs_ the answer to the question that would have changed her life as she knows it now.

"After you changed your mind when you left, why didn't you ever come back? Why didn't you let anyone know you were okay? Why didn't you come home?"

Hearing her question, Jughead's head collapses into his hands. Then, after a while, Jughead takes a deep, guilt-ridden breath, bringing himself to muster up the courage, raise his head and look her in the eye to tell her the truth.

"It took a long time for me to come back from the enormity of the decision that I had made when I left. Then, it took even longer to work through everything I needed to to get to a point that resembled anything like 'okay'. You probably would have already had Bailey by that point. Then, after I decided to keep on going, I felt so guilty for how I'd left Riverdale and especially for the way that I left you... I considered calling you so many times and on numerous occasions I nearly came back for a visit. But, every time I picked up the phone or thought seriously about the idea, my guilt got to me... I knew that I would have hurt you the way I left, so I thought that I was doing the right thing by leaving contact cut. I felt like it wouldn't have been fair on you to have me leave without a trace and then suddenly pop up in your life again. Then, the more time that went by, the more I figured you would have moved on past me, out of Riverdale and away from everything I left..."

Betty doesn't miss the look of heartbreak that floods across the face of the man that she used to know so well. It makes her realise that _maybe_ , despite all that has changed in the last four years, maybe some things haven't...

After he trailed off, Betty can tell that Jughead's thinking about the 'what ifs'. She _knows_ that he's being plagued by what could have been and how differently life could have gone if he had come back to Riverdale, if he had just visited the town sooner than he has or if he simply made a damn phone call to someone... She knows he's thinking about how greatly it would have changed _everything_ for three people.

"I'm sorry, Jughead. I'm sorry for the part I played in that night and in pushing you towards leaving."

Although Betty had copped far more of the blame than what she deserved over that night, Betty regrets having _any_ part -no matter how big- in Jughead being pushed closer to the edge and closer to breaking point.

Seeing her guilt, Jughead opens his arms to her as they both sit in silence, reflecting on everything they thought they knew and everything they now realise...

Unbeknownst to them, the thirteenth of November, four years ago, was a day that had changed both Jughead and Betty's lives forever...

The thirteenth of November had been a day of _life_.

One month after homecoming it marked the day when a broken teenage boy was going to end his own life.

On the thirteenth of November, Jughead Jones made the decision to keep fighting his way through his life that he had given up on.

One month after homecoming and a little over five weeks after a birthday party, it was also the day that a broken teenage girl realised that she was five-and-a-half weeks pregnant.

On the thirteenth of November, Betty Cooper learnt that she was carrying their child.

The thirteenth of November had marked a day of _life_ ; new life for some and a fresh take on life for others...

Eventually, after a prolonged silence, Betty speaks up in a low whisper.

"How are you _now_?"

Taking the time to think about Betty's question seriously, Jughead takes a deep breath and contemplates his answer before looking down to where she is in his arms, looking her straight in the eye as he gives her the honest truth.

"I was good... Before I realised just how badly I've screwed everything up, I was happy."

Jughead exhales another guilt-ridden sigh as his head collapses into his open hands.

"I'm no better than my parents. I thought I'd do better... I promised myself I would _be_ better if I ever had my own kid. I promised myself that I wouldn't hurt them. But, I've done the one thing that I promised myself I would never do... I abandoned you, Betty... I abandoned _her_."

Betty doesn't reassure him and tell him that it's all okay, because it's not. She doesn't tell him that it doesn't matter, because it _does_ matter.

Instead, even in the dark room that is relying on the kitchen light that is filtering into the lounge room, Betty gives Jughead a small, sympathetic smile as she dabs at her own eyes that are still a little moist.

"I think I know what you need... This always makes me feel a little bit better, even on my hardest days."

Slowly, Jughead follows as Betty stands up from where they had been seated at her lounge. She takes him by his wrist -it's less intimate than if their fingers were entangled and held hands- and she leads him through her small home as they walk through to a bedroom; not Betty's.

Then, Betty presses a single finger to her lips, gesturing for him to stay quiet as she leads them both into their daughter's bedroom.

Betty takes a spare rug that is not being used from where it is neatly folded up and kept at the end of Bailey's bed. Then she takes the soft pink rug and lays it out on the floorboards of the small bedroom, laying it directly beside her daughter's bedside where she is fast asleep.

Then, Betty takes a seat, crossing her legs on the floor as she gently pats for Jughead to join her on the rug. Hesitantly, in the dimly lit room, Jughead follows Betty's actions and takes his seat beside her. He has barely sat down before she leans towards him a little, her hand cupped and moving towards his ear as she quietly whispers to him.

"You don't have to stay here, but it always makes me feel better when I watch her sleep. She's just so calm and peaceful... I thought it might work for you, too."

Jughead leans back, his lips hovering beside her ear as he quietly whispers back, a small smile quirking on the corners of his lips.

"Thanks Betts... Better make the most of it 'cause I'm sure that one day she's gonna hate the idea of us watching her sleep."

Betty glances at Jughead and the two share a silent smile as she stifles her laugh at his remark. Then, as their eye contact breaks apart, Betty looks to their daughter.

It makes for quite the sight.

There, on the floor of their daughter's bedroom, two young parents share a rug, sitting side-by-side in the darkness of the dimly lit room. They both watch the little girl who is fast asleep, dreaming, from where she's sprawled out on the bed in front of them as her chest rises and falls in a silent rhythm. Both Betty and Jughead are almost hypnotized by Bailey's calm as she sleeps so peacefully, so innocently and so free from all the troubles that are plaguing her parents...

Then, after several minutes, Betty can't hold back and suppress her sad sigh for any longer as she glances over to Jughead beside her and then back to Bailey as she continues thinking everything through.

Betty never thought that anything could justify what Jughead did to her and she thought that no reason would make leaving her with their daughter okay. And, she felt that way, so strongly, for four years. Yet, in the last few moments, Betty can't bring herself to hold onto her anger for any longer... Suddenly, she can't maintain her fury against the father of her child that she felt so justified in for so long... She can't deny seeing the grey area of what had been black-and-white to her for so many years...

Consequently, Betty reaches a conclusion and makes a decision, whispering to the father of her child who is sitting by her side in front of their daughter's bedside in the darkness.

"I'm not going to let you walk in and out of Bailey's life... You have one chance, Jughead. You have _one chance_ to be her dad and to be a part of her life... But, one strike and you're out. I mean it."

* * *

 **I hope you all liked Jughead's explanation of how he and his life has been for the last four years. I'd love to see what you thought about In the reviews for the last chapter, I was so glad to see that while not many people saw his attempted suicide coming, it made sense to you, too. In my mind, Jughead hit rock bottom at the end of episode 11 and I felt like it could be woven in seamlessly right from when I started planning this story. I'd also love to see what you thought about Betty's reaction to why Jughead left. Do you agree with her willingness to give him a shot in Bailey's life?**

 **Thank you to hulkvengers, violet1429, aussiebornwriter,** **kaylahhallllll, Alana Lissens, rai2197, hopelessromantic618, Bughead4Life and Guest (x2) for reviewing the last chapter of my story. I appreciate the support and the feedback tremendously and I'm so grateful for the time spent to let me know what you think.**

 **Next chapter: After her proclamation to Jughead, Betty begins to grow hesitant and becomes filled with second thoughts at the prospect of having to trust Jughead with Bailey. Also, Jughead shares his news with Doug. **


	16. Fighting Instincts

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN – Fighting Instincts**

"Hey. It's me."

While one man holds a phone to his ear, the face of the man on the other side of the line lights up at the familiar voice.

"Forsythe! How are you? I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me" Doug chuckles light-heartedly.

So far, Doug has left the initiation of contact in Jughead's court while he is in Riverdale. After all, the older man figures that he had been pushy enough to buy a bus ticket to get him back to the small town, in order to face his past. So, he doesn't need him badgering him every night, checking up on him on top of that. After all, while Doug can _try_ to give him a push in the right direction, at the end of the day it's Jughead's life.

"Me? I'm getting there... Sorry I haven't come back yet and I'm sorry that I haven't been in contact much apart from my weird phone call that night. There's been a lot more for me to deal with in Riverdale than what I'd realised."

On the day that he learned of his daughter's existence, Jughead had called Doug, repeating ' _I left them_ ' over and over and over again in distress. Consequently, the following day he called his housemate back, reassuring him that he had just had a big day, he was okay and that he wasn't in danger of any sort.

"Is everything okay? Are you safe? Is there anything that I can do to help?"

Jughead exhales a long, deep sigh. He knows his housemate means the best, but he also knows that the other man has no _clue_ about the depth of his problems.

"Thanks for the offer Dougie, but there's nothing that you can do. I don't think that there's anything that _anyone_ can do."

Doug is wise enough and he knows Jughead well enough to realise that there's more to the story than the young boy is letting on.

"Forsythe... What's going on?"

"I just wanted to call you and thank you again –from the bottom of my heart- for stopping me that day. Thank you for whatever you said to me that made me stop and think twice. And, thank you for everything you've done for me since then, too... Thank you for giving a hopeless boy hope all those years ago. I'm thankful that you were there for me."

"You're more than welcome, but you don't need to thank me. Where is all this coming from?"

Jughead takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, preparing to tell one of his best friends his big news over the phone. He realises that Doug is the first person that he's actually _telling_ and sharing his news with. After all, his other nearest and dearest have spent the last four years being very well aware of the news that he had been in the dark about.

"I'm a dad, Doug... I've got a little girl."

"Bloody hell... Is she in Riverdale? Did you know?"

"No, I had no clue that her mother was pregnant when I left her. But, she's three now... _Bailey_. She's just another reason I'm so thankful for you being there to stop me all those years ago. Three-and-a-half years without a father is nothing compared to a lifetime without one..."

As the older man processes the younger man's news, there's a silence over the phone and Jughead uses the time to consider another factor that is weighing on him...

After Betty's initial proclamation to Jughead, declaring that she would give him one chance to be a part of their daughter's life a few days back, she has seemed to forget about the idea, failing to mention it again after that.

Betty has most certainly _not_ forgotten about the invitation that she had extended to Jughead after the emotional evening, from where they were sitting beside each other on the floor of their daughter's bedroom. However, Betty _has_ developed a case of cold feet after her initial offer, experiencing growing fears over everything that may go wrong after taking the leap of faith, introducing Bailey's father into her daughter's life.

Yet, while Jughead is eager to be slowly integrated into Bailey's life, he doesn't want to push Betty in fear of pushing her into retracting her initial offer.

"She still doesn't know I'm her dad, Doug. I've met her, but as far as she knows, I'm just her mum's friend. A few days back, her mother said she'd tell her the truth and give me one chance to be a part of her life. But, it hasn't come up since. I would like to, but I don't want to push it and risk my chances..."

"You've already lost several years of your daughter's life, Forsythe. Life's short, I've told you that... Don't waste anymore time."

A silence follows Doug's final, blunt remark. Then, a brief goodbye draws the phone call to an end as Doug hangs up his older mobile phone that Jughead had taught him to use a few years back, with a sigh.

Jughead has no idea that the man on the other side of the phone can feel himself deteriorating in the time since he left for Riverdale. In fact, he still doesn't even know that his housemate, his unlikely friend and his father figure is facing a deadline, let alone one that is so soon and impending.

But, the older man can feel his time slowly running out, second by second, like an hourglass losing grain by grain...

He's not _intentionally_ keeping the younger man in the dark. Doug had told himself that he would tell him the next time that they spoke and that time would have been today. But, he hadn't anticipated Jughead's own news. Consequently, despite being given the opportunity to say something and despite the fact that he was going to, the older man had found that he couldn't.

He just _couldn't_.

Doug knows just how indebted to him Jughead feels and he hates it. Doug knows that Jughead hearing he is slowly but surely dying would get him back on the bus to Oklahoma. But, most of all, Doug knows that he can't steal a little girl's father away from her...

But, he's got time, after all. Although he can feel his own deterioration and sense his slow declines that he isn't getting back up from, he's still managing to care for himself on his own and at home. However, he cannot deny the fact that the words 'palliative care' have been thrown around more and more and he cannot deny the inevitable.

Yet, faced with his own secrets, Doug finds himself defying his very own wise words of advice that he'd given to the younger man just minutes ago...

#

After the phone call has drawn to an end, Jughead Jones continues to hear his older friend's final words of advice ringing through his ears.

Consequently, with a sigh, Jughead prepares to muster up the courage to take the firm advice from the wise elder and as a result, he finds himself making his way to a certain apartment not far from the center of the small town that he had grown up in.

Within minutes he finds himself standing out the front of a small, two-bedroom home that he has visited only twice before. Then, with a knock and a deep breath from where he is standing in front of the door, Jughead waits in nervous anticipation before his ex-girlfriend answers the door to her home.

"Jughead... What are you doing here?"

Betty's face is unintentionally serious, a small frown on her face. She doesn't think that she had made arrangements for him to come over but, standing there on her doorstep, she second-guesses whether or not they had made plans and she had just forgotten.

"Hey... Sorry for just dropping by. Is Bailey around?"

While Betty's brows furrow a little more tightly in confusion as she tries to piece together what is going on, Jughead unintentionally looks past the blonde who is standing in the doorway, looking further into her home. He figures that he should check that their daughter's not on the other side of the door, in earshot, before he starts talking about what he needs to.

"Yeah, she's just watching a movie right now. Why?"

"Can I talk to you?" Jughead fires back instantly.

Betty nods in response, her frown and confusion being maintained with the look on her face for a moment before she steps aside from the front door and welcomes Jughead inside, closing the door behind him.

Then, Jughead follows the young mother as she silently creeps over to the living area as she glances towards their daughter and checks that she's okay and settled. Betty quickly determines that Bailey's totally absorbed in watching her movie from where she's lying down, sprawled out on the lounge suite, with a blanket tucked under her arm comfortingly and her little sippy cup by her side. With a little smile settling on her face after checking her little girl, Betty leads Jughead through her home. Once again, she leads him into their daughter's room to seek privacy without giving him the wrong message, closing the door behind them.

"What did you want to talk about?"

Jughead takes a deep breath before he exhales a sigh. He bites the bullet and jumps right in, cutting to the chase.

"You said that you would give me a chance to be her dad, Betty. I want us to tell her... I want to truly start being Bailey's father. I've missed out on enough time in her life already and I can't afford to lose anymore."

From the other side of the room, Betty avoids meeting Jughead's baby-blue-eyed glance. Instead, she turns her focus to where she's fidgeting with the dress of doll that is sitting atop Bailey's dresser as she releases a pent-up sigh.

She had been expecting to those words from the father of her child sooner or later. But, since agreeing to give him a chance in their daughter's life a few days ago, Betty hasn't had the courage to touch the can of worms that will be opened up and unleashed as soon as she tells Bailey the truth about Jughead and their connection to each other.

However, Betty knows that this particular can of worms won't just disappear and she knows the matter won't just go away. Consequently, Betty exhales another sigh, glancing over in Jughead's general direction as she nips at her lip nervously while her arms cross in front of herself.

"I know I said that I'd give you one chance, but honestly Jughead, _I'm scared_..."

As Betty and Jughead's eyes lock for just a mere moment, her emerald orbs are quick to dart away from his glance when he sees the vulnerability in her after her confession that she goes to elaborate on.

"Although I now know that there's more to the story, you still hurt me badly by the way you left me. I've spent the last three-and-a-half years protecting Bailey from getting hurt and doing my best to shield her from pain. The last time I trusted you, you left. And, now I've having to trust you with my baby girl and trust that you won't hurt her..."

Jughead knows that the words 'father' and 'pain' are not automatically antonymous. However, he still cannot control the way that his eyebrows furrow seriously, infused with pain.

"I'm her dad, Betts..."

There's another sigh. From across the room, Jughead's almost certain that he can see the glimmer of moisture in her big, green eyes.

" _I know.._. That's why I know that I need to give you a chance, as scared as I might be. I know I can't put it off forever. But, I just need a little bit more time. And I want to be the one to tell Bailey."

The former high school sweethearts look between one another, exchanging looks as they read each other in silence from opposite sides of their daughter's room. Then, after a few moments, Jughead begins to nod his head in acknowledgement of Betty's terms.

"Okay... I'm okay with that. And, I promise that I'll prove it to you, that you don't have to worry about me hurting her... Or _you_ , again."

In the silence, Betty looks at her ex-boyfriend intently. Reading him, she can tell that he means the words that he says.

However, while his words trigger the smallest of smiles on the corner of her lips, Betty knows that she can't trust his words alone. No, he needs to _prove_ those words to her and to their daughter.

"We have been dealt a really awful hand, Juggie. Both of us have and in turn, so has our daughter... It's not fair. _Yes_ , everything was triggered by the fact that you left Riverdale the way you did all those years ago. But, as much as I want someone or something to blame, I don't think it's fair to hold you accountable for everything. Really, it's just as fair for you to blame me for the fact that I never told you that we had Bailey because I _couldn't_ as it as fair for me to blame you for the fact that you weren't there for us because you didn't _know_."

Jughead nods at his exes words. Even wordsmith couldn't put it better if he tried.

"... _So_ , just know that I'm trying my best to do the right thing for all three of us, but this isn't easy, Jughead. I know that you were fighting your own demons, but four years of pain has left me with scars. And, if I'm being perfectly honest with you, I'm still fighting against every instinct I have to just shelter Bailey and push you away out of fear of being hurt and left again."

Once again, Jughead just nods. He can't blame her. He knows the impact that abandonment has on your trust. And, while it had never, ever been his intention and while he thought that he was doing the best thing for Betty in a god-awful situation, after leaving her without a word Jughead had still unintentionally induced the years of suffering that she had endured in raising their daughter after he left her without a word.

The two remain silent for a few minutes from where they are standing uncomfortably and fidgeting occasionally on either side of their daughter's room. Then, after it seems like any conversation is long gone, Jughead looks up as he looks over to Betty, telling her the one thing that he has wanted her to know for the past few days and through all their discussion; the thing that he hasn't managed to bring up and find the right words to convey before now.

"Betty? I can't say that I would have been the perfect boyfriend and I can't say that I would have been the best co-parent. But, I just want you to know that I would have at least _tried_ if I had of known that I got you pregnant..."

Betty just nods as she's nips at her lip. She doesn't quite know what to say to that and instead she exhales yet another sigh before moving across the room, closing the gap between them.

"Look, I promise you that I will tell Bailey sometime soon... I just need to work up the courage to take that jump first. But, for now, would you like to spend a bit of time with your daughter before you go?"

The smile that spreads across Jughead's face answers Betty's question for her without a word. In turn, she leads them both out of their child's room and back towards the lounge room to where 'Finding Nemo' is about halfway through playing.

"Bailey" Betty utters, gently grabbing her daughter's attention. "Look who's here."

The little three-year-old takes a sharp intake of air as she gasps at the sight of both her parents in the doorway, enough to steal her attention away from the adventures of Nemo, Dory and Marlin.

"Juggie!" Bailey grins as she bolts upright on the lounge with excitement.

Bailey's excitement triggers a huge jolt of confidence in Jughead from where he's cowering in the hallway. In fact, he can't hide the grin on his face after seeing his daughter's reaction to his presence and hearing his nickname coming from her. It's not just hearing the little word coming from that melts Jughead heart but it's also in the way she _says_ his name each time. After all, coming from Bailey, 'Juggie' isn't just a nickname, it's an exclamation.

"Hey missy..."

As he crosses his arms, shifting just a little to enter further into the living area, Jughead attempts to appear relaxed and interested as he leans against the door-frame despite that he feels both a little rigid and far from relaxed; undoubtedly from the fact that he feels in over his head.

Then, at the presence of the visitor, Bailey excitedly gestures for him to sit next to her on the lounge and join her in watching the movie. She hasn't quite gathered the concept of people coming over for a purpose _other_ than playing with her. So, although Jughead had come to the mother and daughter's home with the purpose of talking to Betty, he cannot resist the invitation from his daughter as he slowly walks across the room and even more slowly takes a seat beside the three-year-old; all the while waiting for her to change her mind or take it back.

"So what are you watching, Bailey?"

"Nemo!"

Feeling his nerves rising, Jughead is grateful when Betty offers him a drink and checks whether or not Bailey is hungry from where she is now standing in the doorway where Jughead had been just minutes ago. After a few minutes Betty walks over to kitchen area of her small apartment beginning to make coffees for herself and Jughead and to bring a quick snack out for Bailey. Although Betty's giving them just a little more privacy, she is still in earshot from where she can see the father and daughter in her line of sight with just the dining table to separate the two areas within her home.

Once her mother has left the room, Bailey turns to the visitor and decides to fill Jughead in on the movie that he has joined her in watching, educating him on a few fun facts along with the details of the movie as though he has never heard of 'Finding Nemo' before.

"Nemo's a fishy. Nemo lost his daddy. Bailey's daddy's hiding too. His fwend Dor-wy's helping Nemo's daddy find him. I had Nutella for lunch! I like Bwuce shark. He's silly!"

Despite the little girl's bubbly demeanor and her friendliness, Jughead can feel himself growing uncomfortable rapidly, developing a lump in his throat when one remark stands out to him in particular. Consequently, he's grateful when Bailey seems satisfied in her mission to get him up to speed as she turns back to the TV screen and continues watching her movie.

Then, all of a sudden, Jughead's instinctual flight response begins to kick in when his growing nerves are combined with his unceasing guilt. However, fortunately something within Jughead urges him to tell the little girl beside him about the fact that he's upping and leaving _before_ he does so. Apparently he's making progress after leaving her mother so abruptly, so many times...

"I'll be right back, Bailey. I just have to see your mummy for a minute."

Bailey nods as big, two blue eyes look up to Jughead's own hooded ones. He doesn't delay for a minute longer before racing out of there and over to her mother.

As Betty catches sight of the beanie-clad young man who is emerging from the lounge area and walking over to her, she sees the panic on his paling face and notes his raspy, panicked breaths.

Consequently, Betty's own eyes widen in fear, too.

After all, ever since that night in their daughter's room, Betty has been living in fear, worrying about her concerns that Jughead would up and leave again and that this time he'd up and leave their daughter, too. So, seeing the young man racing away from their three-year-old and the movie that he had just sat down in front of, Betty's stomach plummets as she immediately grows fearful that that time has come, _already_.

"Jughead?! Where are you going?"

"I... I just needed a minute..."

As he leans against the bench top, his hands are pressed solidly to the counter while he takes a deep breath. He has clearly lost his composure and Betty can see that he wants to be anywhere here, trapped in her small home...

But, he's fighting it. He's fighting the pull and he's fighting his instinct to just race out on his daughter, sparked by the three-year-old mentioning his abandonment of her so complacently and unknowingly.

Jughead can _feel_ his guilt surging through him as his daughter's innocent words echo through his mind over and over again...

 _Bailey's daddy's hiding too._

Betty doesn't know exactly what has triggered his nerves. But, what she does know is that she can see he's at least _trying_ to fight back.

Just a little while earlier, it had been Betty fighting against her instincts, trying to do the right thing, fighting against her own scars from the past in order to let him and to bring herself to give Jughead a fair chance in their daughter's life. As she takes a deep breath, Betty knows that this isn't easy. Nothing about their situation has been or will be _easy_. But, if the two of them are going to make a success of overcoming the pain and their pasts and if they are going to be the parents that their daughter deserves, then they need to be a team.

So, Betty tells the father of her child the words that she had held back earlier that day.

"Juggie? You know how earlier on today you said you would have at least tried if you'd known about Bailey...? I want you to know that I _know_ you would have been a good dad."

Distracting him from his nerves, Jughead's head jolts up in shock with his attention piqued by Betty's comment, leaving him feeling like he can't quite believe his ears.

"You had two shining examples of what _not_ to do with parenting and you would have learnt from that. And sure, the list might be short, but you're there for the people you love, no matter what. Despite what happened between us, you're a good person, Jughead. You're a good man... Don't let yourself doubt that."

From either side of the small kitchen, Jughead gives Betty a look that is solemn, but meaningful. His eyes bore into hers appreciatively. Wordlessly, he's at least trying to convey his gratitude to Betty at her undeserved confidence in him. Then with a big, deep breath and a small smile in Betty's direction, Jughead slowly returns to his seat on the lounge beside his little girl and he returns to the movie with a sense of calm after Betty's words of confidence in him had sparked a remarkable change.

Moving away from the kitchen also, the young mother pauses in the doorway between the dining and living areas for a few moments. She watches and observes them as Jughead hesitantly asks their daughter some questions about the movie and her opinion of it and while _she_ elaborates on all of the different characters and their feelings, _he_ takes in her every word animatedly. Bailey is glowing from his attention.

The sight before her sends a pang of pain to her heart as Betty takes a big, deep breath, acknowledging that she needs to let go just a little bit. For the first time, Betty realises that she needs to learn how to release the reins and she needs to learn to let her daughter's other parent in a little bit...

However, in trusting that Jughead's going to follow through, Betty realises that this new learning curve is no easier than learning to fall, having to trust that Jughead won't abuse her trust in him again and that he'll catch them.

So, with another deep breath as she takes a few small steps back, Betty prepares to give the father and daughter a few moments alone, hoping that Jughead will grow more relaxed and at ease not feeling like she's watching over him like a hawk with their little girl.

Making her way to her bedroom across from her daughter's, Betty pulls her phone out of her jeans pocket and chooses a contact as she flops down onto her neatly-made bed comfortably, preparing herself for a nice long chat to buy Jughead and Bailey some time together.

"Hey... _How are you?_ ... Yeah, I'm okay... Bailey? She's good, thanks. I'd put her on to talk to you, but she's just busy at the moment... _I know_ , not long now..."

Betty's conversation that sounds one-sided to everyone apart from the person on the receiving end is momentarily interrupted by a brief pause as she exhales a deep sigh.

"I have _so_ much to tell you..."

* * *

 **So while Bailey still doesn't know about Jughead, Jughead still doesn't know that time's running out for Doug. Poor Betty's struggling with letting in, but she knows she has to. Meanwhile, poor Jughead's struggling with his own flight response. Ooh and who is Betty talking to? There was just a snippet of father-daughter time in this one but there's more and more coming in upcoming chapters.**

 **As always, thank you so much to my lovely readers and especially those who take the time to leave some feedback. I appreciate the response enormously and I hope you all continue to enjoy where the story goes. There's still quite a lot left on the journey for these three! Don't forget to let me know what you thought of this one too - the feedback makes my day!**

 **Next chapter: Bailey finally finds out the truth about Jughead! What will she think? And, will Jughead be able to take it as fatherhood intensifies? **


	17. Bailey's Daddy

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – Bailey's Daddy**

When she hears the knock at the front door of her small unit, Betty looks up from where she had been scrawling away busily at the dining table, working on her grocery shopping list for the week. She knew Jughead was coming over, but in order to distract her nerves from getting to her before he arrived, Betty had started to preoccupy herself with writing the list out.

They had both decided that today will be the day they change their little girl's life forever.

So, as soon as she hears the sign of his arrival, Betty drops her pen and leaves it with her pad of paper in order to answer her front door. Getting up from her seat at the table, she heads straight for the front door, opening it to her expected visitor.

"Jughead... Hi. Come in."

Standing to the side of the open door, Betty shifts her body to allow her ex-boyfriend to walk past her and through the door that she is holding open, allowing him to enter her home.

Jughead has barely walked through the door before the sound of voices and footsteps, pique Bailey's interest as the little girl creeps out of her bedroom and into the hallway to see who is visiting her and her mother. As soon as she catches sight of the familiar frame and the crown beanie, Bailey's face lights up with excitement at the man standing by her mother's side.

"Juggie! Hi!"

"Hey Bailey... What have you been doing?" Jughead replies with a nervous smile, feeling the pressure in everything he says and does in his daughter's company.

"Oh, just playing babies" the little girl responds, waving the toy doll that had been tucked in her arms up in the air to show him to verify her answer. "Do you wanna play with me?"

Jughead gives the little girl a hesitant smile. He appreciates her offer and, even more so, he appreciates the fact that she _wants_ to play with him. However, not only is this parenting thing all a bit new and scary as it is, but seeing as it has been over a decade since he would play with Jellybean as a child, the prospect of tagging along in a little girl's game is especially daunting to him.

Thankfully before he even has a chance to say a word in response to Bailey, Jughead is saved by the bell as Betty jumps in and speaks up, moving across the room towards their daughter.

"Not right now, Bailey... Jughead is going to wait out here for a few minutes because right now I need to talk to you, baby."

Although she has moved closer towards Bailey, Betty glances back over to Jughead as though confirming that there's no doubt in his eyes and no hesitation present in him as she prepares to tell their daughter who her father is. Looking towards him, Betty just receives a silent, affirmative nod from Jughead before she turns back to her daughter, holding her arms out and open to her.

In the silence, Bailey looks between the two adults in the room, as though sensing that there is something unspoken between them. Then, Bailey mirrors her mother in response, holding her arms open and indicating that she wants to be held. Instantly the young mother picks her daughter up, presses a kiss to her hair and carries her into her own room.

Between the journey from the living room to Betty's room and from where she's being held within her mother's arms, Bailey wraps her arms around her own stomach dramatically as she releases a groan.

"I'm _hungry_ , mummy..."

"You only had lunch less than an hour ago!" Betty exclaims, tickling her daughter's stomach with a warm smile. Betty knows _exactly_ where her little girl got her appetite from, the three-year-old is irrefutably her father's daughter.

"But my tummy's still empty..." Bailey replies with a serious pout, only brightening Betty's smile.

However, despite her amusement, Betty can't help but roll her eyes as she chuckles to her herself at the familiar comment, hearing it at least once every hour from her daughter.

"Well, if you're still hungry a little bit later, I'll make you a fruit salad."

The three-year-old nods in agreement but Betty knows that there's no 'if' about it... She _will_ be making Bailey a fruit salad later on.

Then as she enters her bedroom, Betty brings herself and her daughter who is within her arms over to her bed, taking a seat on her bedside. Setting Bailey on her lap, Betty's arms remain wrapped around her little girl as she presses a kiss to the top of her golden curls, taking a big, deep breath to calm her beating heart.

"I love you so much, Bailey-girl. I want you to know that I only ever do what I think is best for you, baby..." Betty says, whispering the reassurances to her daughter that are for her own sake as much as they are for Bailey's.

Then, the young mother gives her daughter a little squeeze within their hug from where she's set on her lap.

Betty doesn't know exactly how much Bailey will understand of what she is about to tell her and she doesn't know how great the impact will be on her. She doesn't even know how she'll react. But, Betty wants to make that detail about her own relationship with her daughter loud and clear to Bailey first-and-foremost. She wants her daughter to know that she only ever does what she thinks is in her best interests, _always_ , no matter if Bailey quite understands that concept or not.

"I love you too, mummy" the little girl just smiles in return, comfortably resting her head against her mother's chest from where she's seated on her lap.

Betty smiles at her daughter's words she never tires of hearing and the comfort of their embrace before she exhales a bittersweet sigh.

"Bailey? You know that everyone has a daddy. Can you remember how sometimes we talk about _your_ daddy?"

Recognising what her mother is saying and understanding the question that is being posed to her, Bailey nods brightly in response.

"Yeah, mummy... Bailey's daddy's hiding."

At hearing Bailey's remark in answer to her question, Betty can't contain the expression of surprise that spreads across her face.

There have only been a handful of times that she has spoken to her daughter about her father and even on the occasions when Betty has answered the questions that Bailey has raised, the conversations have only ever been brief. The young mother has basically just covered the fact that _yes_ , Bailey does have a father, he has the same eyes as her and Betty doesn't know where he is.

However, listening to her daughter's understanding of the subject, Betty realises that Bailey has taken that information and perceived it as though her father is _hiding_ from them...

 _That_ breaks Betty's heart more than just a little bit.

"Mummy didn't know where your daddy was, Bailey..." Betty says in answer to Bailey's statement, stroking a comforting hand through her unruly curls. She doesn't correct her daughter over the slight difference in her interpretation of events, nor does she confirm Bailey's understanding of the situation. Rather, Betty just keeps explaining.

"I didn't know where he was for a very long time. But, I've found your daddy again, baby..."

As she bolts upright in her lap, a little look of interest floods across the face of the three-and-a-half-year-old at hearing her mother's words.

"Really?! Where's Bailey's daddy?"

Sticking to her resolve to be as honest as she can with her daughter, Betty attempts to put the fact that 'her father left her mother without knowing that she was pregnant with her' as innocently as she can to her three-year-old.

"He was very, very far away and he didn't know that there was a beautiful little girl called Bailey who was waiting for him."

Betty's gentle explanation seems to work as Bailey's face just lights up at hearing her role in the story. It brings a brief smile to Betty's face before it collapses with a sigh.

"Bailey? You know Jughead..."

The little girl's face stays lit up, just growing that little bit brighter with recognition at the mention of the man she knows.

"Juggie!"

Bailey's exclamation prompts Betty to chuckle for just a moment. She still finds it the strangest experience to hear their daughter calling her ex-boyfriend by her nickname for him.

"Yeah, baby... _Juggie_."

Little blonde curls bound around excitedly at the fact she has made the right connection while Bailey waits for her mother to continue speaking. So, taking a deep breath, Betty presses a kiss to the top of her daughter's hair before facing the truth that seems a lot harder on her than it does her three-year-old.

"Bailey... He's your daddy. Juggie is Bailey's daddy."

As soon as the words depart from her lips, Betty watches her daughter's face intently, examining the flurry of little expressions that she knows so well after three years of studying them each and every day.

At first, Betty sees Bailey's 'serious face'. It's the expression she gets when she's concentrating on something very carefully, if she's a little confused and if she's trying to recall a particular word or convey something. It's the same expression that Bailey develops when she begins to grow tired and when even little things come to be hard work for the little girl. Then, after a few moments, the little girl speaks up with the expression still strongly etched into her little face.

"Bailey's got a daddy" is the first thing that comes out of the girl's mouth.

Although it sounds like a question, the three-year-old's words are uttered more so out of surprise. After all, the fact that she _has_ a father was one of the first details that had been established when the subject came up in conversation between the mother and daughter.

Bailey seems more surprised that there's an identity and there's someone behind what had just been a string of words that she heard from her mother whenever she raised questions after seeing dads in books or in movies, prompting her to question whether she had one, too.

"Yes baby, you do have a daddy."

Then, after being initially slow to speak and slow to react, Bailey's next words have a sudden fast pace to them, almost as though she's thinking aloud, processing all the information her mother has just given to her.

"Bailey's daddy... Juggie! Bailey's daddy!"

For a few moments, a look of wonder fills Bailey's face. Then, from where she is seated on Betty's lap, the little girl lies against her mother's body, nestling her head into the crook of Betty's neck like she's suddenly grown tired. It's like it is all a bit unsettling and it's all a little bit too much for the three-year-old in that moment. So, Bailey seeks her primary source of comfort, turning to her mother.

"You okay, Bailey-girl?" Betty coos, stroking her daughter's golden locks comfortingly after Bailey's sudden slump against her.

Feeling her daughter's silent nod against her body, Betty presses a reassuring kiss to the top of her head.

"Everything's going to be okay, baby. I promise you that everything will be okay."

After a few minutes of the two girls hugging in silence, Betty takes Bailey's body from where she is sat on her lap and resting against her within her arms, furthering her hold on her daughter in order to support her entire body as she picks her up and comes a standing from where they had been seated on Betty's bedside as she slowly get ups and carries Bailey out of her room.

Upon leaving her bedroom, Betty gently rocks her daughter against her body as she pats a gentle, steady rhythms into her back from where she's still nestled into her body. The movement is almost instinctual for Betty. After all, she doesn't know just how many hours she has spent over the years, comfortingly rocking the little girl back and forth in her arms to settle her through both day and night.

Meanwhile, upon catching sight of the two girls leaving the room and re-entering the living area from where's leaning against the kitchen bench-top where he is waiting patiently, concern fills Jughead's face at seeing his child slumped in her mother's arms.

"Is she okay?" Jughead asks in little more than a whisper. He doesn't know exactly how long it takes to get a kid to sleep, but he imagines it takes slightly longer than the length of time since Betty had left the room in order to tell their daughter about her father.

Betty just gives the concerned father a small nod across the room, her focus not straying from settling and calming their daughter as she keeps up the steady, rocking rhythm.

Then, suddenly, after a few minutes of silence, a little blonde head pops up like a Jack-in-the-box.

At first, the little girl just looks up and around to study the familiar surroundings in her own home for just a moment. Almost instantly, Bailey spots the man on the other side of the room. Then, after watching Jughead from afar, from in her mother's arms for a few moments, Bailey eventually begins to squirm in Betty's grip as she silently indicates that she wants to be put down. Betty obliges.

The second that Bailey's feet touch the floor, her hand flies up to her mouth. Bailey's thumb and index finger nervously begin to touch and play with her bottom lip as her gaze doesn't leave the beanie-clad man while taking small, apprehensive, shy steps closer towards him. When there's barely a metre between the father and daughter, Jughead slowly crouches down before Bailey. It doesn't feel quite right to him to tower over her like a skyscraper when she's so close to him from where he's standing in front of her.

"Hi, Bailey..." Jughead says softly, breaking the silence as he gives the three-year-old a nervous smile, not quite knowing what to do or what to say.

The typically friendly little girl doesn't reply. Instead, her focus is captured by something else as she takes a few more small steps towards her father, with one hand stretching out to reach for him.

Jughead stays still, thinking that she's going to grab his beanie or maybe she's about to reach for his fishhook of loose hair at first. But, he's proven wrong on all accounts as her little finger directs themselves elsewhere.

" _Daddy's_ blue eyes..." Bailey comments, with her tiny index finger coming millimetres from Jughead's right eye.

Then, Bailey pulls her finger away from where it's hovering in front of her father's face, gesturing to her own orbs in a very similar manner as her finger gets worryingly close to one of her own big, blue eyes.

" _Bailey's_ blue eyes..."

This is when Betty speaks up, reassuring her daughter, from where she's standing on the other side of the room as she observes the father and daughter from afar. Betty recalls the conversation that she and Bailey had had just a few weeks ago. Betty remembers that she had told her daughter that she has her dad's blue eyes when they were brushing their teeth one morning and the little girl grew puzzled about why hers and her mother's eyes are different colours.

"That's right, baby. You have daddy's blue eyes."

Jughead glances over to Betty, piecing together the fact that the mother and daughter seem to have discussed the matter in the past. His eyes return to Bailey just in time to see the little girl's face light up with a smile at her recognition of the connection between them both.

Then, with a smile on her face, Bailey's eyes lock on Jughead as she confirms the detail that she's slowly piecing together, directing her next statement to him.

"Bailey's daddy..."

From two, simple words, the new father can't hide his proud smile, unable to tear his eyes away from his daughter, who too is looking directly at him.

"Yeah, sweetheart... I'm your daddy."

A little giggle erupts from the little girl as she snatches up her father's hand like a new friend. Immediately, she wants to show him everything and tell him everything. Meanwhile, with a growing smile on his face, Jughead obliges willingly as his daughter takes his hand and drags him around the room, firstly hauling him over to the corner of the open room.

"Look! This is Bailey's table! I do lots of pictures! And look! It's my textas! The blue one doesn't work anymore. Look!"

The next stop on their tour, Bailey takes Jughead over to the cabinet that the small television is on.

"Look! It's Bailey's movies! I like Nemo and Elsa and Simba and Belle and Moana and Dennis Menace. But not that movie. That's my mummy's movie. It makes mummy sad sometimes."

Jughead shoots Betty a little look across the room while the young mother's head falls from equal embarrassment and surprise. She well _knows_ that children have no filter; especially not her bubbly little girl. However, what she didn't know is that Bailey is well aware of the movie she'd watch on occasion after putting Bailey to bed, on the nights when she felt like having a bit of a cry if she needed to at the end of a long day.

Then, unaware of her parent's silent reactions to her last remark, Bailey drags Jughead over to the next point of interest as she pulls him across the room to where the framed photos are hanging on the wall behind the lounge.

"Look, photos! Look, it's my mummy in a pretty dress. And it's me and my mummy. Look! It's Uncle Archie and Aunty V! And Nanna and Grandad! Look! It's me when I was a baby! See!"

Bailey bubbles over with excitement as she animatedly points to the collection of photos that are hung high above her. Meanwhile, Jughead is drawn to another photo...

From where he stands by his daughter's side, Jughead spots an assortment of four Polaroid photographs that are positioned directly side-by-side to create a rectangle on the wall, but one in particular stands out to him. While the Polaroids are far too small and far too high up for the little girl to be able to see clearly, Jughead does.

One thing Jughead notes is that they are all from the same night. There's one of Betty and Veronica hugging, with smiles on their faces. There's another one with Betty sandwiched between Archie and Kevin, like two buffers either side of their friend. There's one that just captures the atmosphere of the party, picturing the people that are dancing around the Andrews living room. Then, finally, the photo that stands out to Jughead is one of himself and Betty standing together, arms wrapped around each other and surrounded by their friends -Archie, Veronica, Kevin, Joaquin and Ethel- to form the group shot.

Jughead knows that the photo was taken on the day of his seventeenth birthday, at his surprise party.

As he glances down to the little girl beside him, Jughead smiles to himself from his insider knowledge, looking to the photo, to his daughter and then back up to the one Polaroid in particular that's hanging on the wall in a cluster.

It takes a moment for Jughead to wrap his head around the fact that at the start of that day and when he woke up as a seventeen-year-old for the very first time that morning, the little girl that's standing beside him didn't exist. Even in that photo which was taken later in the day, Bailey didn't exist. Yet, within hours of that photo being taken, a perfect collision occurred, setting the stage for the very, very earliest stages of his daughter's development as she continued to form and grow and result in his most perfect little girl that is standing by his side, right here and right now. Jughead finds himself feeling filled with awe and wonder at the fact he played any role in the moments that lead up to a clock ticking back from nine months all those years ago.

However, as his attention returns to the little girl, Bailey swoops up his hand and takes it in her own once again, pulling him over to the fridge with her.

"Look! I drawed that! It's a volcano! And a Bambi! I drawed that, too" Bailey pauses, releasing her hold on Jughead's hand to open the fridge door with two hands and just a little difficulty seeing as she's too short to reach the handle.

"And look! Here is Bailey's milk and Bailey's eggs and Bailey's carrots" the little girl points out excitedly, showing Jughead anything and everything that she spots as though his visit is just one big opportunity for show-and-tell.

Stifling her giggle from where she had been watching her daughter's hyperactivity from afar, Betty walks over to Jughead and Bailey, gently removing the little girl's hand from the fridge door and picking her up in her arms to distract her.

"Alright, alright Bailey... I think that's enough show-and-tell for today" Betty says as she calmly warns her daughter. Then, turning to her ex-boyfriend with a coy smile, Betty apologises on behalf of their child.

"Sorry. Someone's a bit overexcited."

Earlier that day, Betty didn't quite know how her daughter would react to being told about her father. But, she certainly hadn't predicted a little slump of silent shyness before switching into a bubbly, hyperactive mode; wanting to show Jughead everything she laid her eyes on like she he's a new friend or her father is just a new toy.

In response, Jughead just gives Betty a smile and a shake of his head. He downplays it, making out as though he's not bothered by it. He doesn't give away that Bailey's excitement is melting his heart completely.

"Why don't you go and see if you can find your special book. I think your daddy might like to see that one" Betty suggests intentionally as she turns to her daughter. Although she feels a touch hypocritical for just warning her daughter _not_ to show-and-tell Jughead the rest of their home, Betty is thankful when Bailey abides by her advice with a big nod as she races out of the room and heads for her own, leaving her parents alone for a moment, not-so coincidentally.

While Bailey seems unfazed by todays news so far, Betty wants to ensure that it's not too much, too fast for the father of her child.

"So, how are you feeling?"

Jughead exhales a deep breath that he didn't know he'd been holding in before turning to Betty. The small smile that's growing in the corner of his lips only reflects a portion of the smile that is in his eyes.

"A touch overwhelmed... She's a little whirlwind of enthusiasm, isn't she? _Clearly_ takes after me. But, I'm happy, Betts... _really_ happy. She's pretty great."

Betty sends a warm smile Jughead's way as the two parents silently agree on the same fact about their daughter.

"Look... It's up to you and your dad, but I thought I'd give you a little tip off. Every Friday, Bailey spends the day with our parents, one week mine and your dad the next. I don't know if FP's mentioned it, but Bailey's due to spend this Friday with him. I mean it's up to you whether you want to spend a little more time with her and if your dad's okay with it, but I just thought I'd let you know..."

Jughead knows that his ex doesn't have to try and help him and he knows that Betty doesn't have to create more opportunities for him to spend time with their daughter, but he gives her an appreciative smile. Because, although she might not have to, she _is_.

"Thanks for letting me know, Betts. I really appreciate it."

Jughead doesn't mention the fact that he is most _definitely_ going to follow that up with his dad, seeking the prospect to spend even just a little more time with his daughter...

* * *

 **I hope you all liked that one! There were so many different ways I could go with Bailey's reaction so I hope you all liked it. From my perspective, I thought she'd be old enough to feel some extent of the weight of the news, but she'd really only see the positives of essentially just gaining a dad. However, it's definitely something that Bailey will continue trying to understand and wanting to know more and more about. And, eventually Jughead's going to have to face some tough questions... I do hope you all liked the way Betty explained it to Bailey and the little father-daughter moments after that.**

 **Also, thank you so much to everyone who has continued to read and support my story. I get so excited to see each and every little review pop up and I can't thank you enough. I'd love to know what you all thought of this one, too.**

 **Next chapter : Both Betty and FP try to give Jughead a little push in the right direction as three generations of Jones's spend the day together. Also, flashbacks!**


	18. A Sixteen-Year-Old's Strength

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – A Sixteen-Year-Old's Strength**

That Friday morning, the mother and daughter walk hand-in-hand, headed for a particular trailer in the Sunnyside Trailer Park. When they are just metres away from their destination, Bailey lets go of her hold on her mother's hand as she races up to the front door and knocks on her grandfather's front door with Betty trailing behind, carrying her daughter's backpack on her shoulder. As she waits for the door to be opened and her mother to join her, the three-year-old is just about bursting with excitement at who she knows she's about to see.

Within seconds of hearing the little knock, FP is opening the front door to and proceeding to catch the little girl who instantly attempts to bound up into his open arms in a big hug.

"Grandpa!" Bailey squeals with her excitement evident as she throws her arms around her grandfather's neck while he holds her in his arms, returning the hug.

Further in the trailer, another man makes small steps, slowly nearing the front door. As he walks, he tries to push his nerves to the side regarding what will mark the first time he's seeing his daughter since the day that she found out that he is her father.

"Hey..." Jughead says, standing behind his father as he offers the visitors his shy greeting, hesitantly, as though it can be retracted and he can slink away at the first sign of alarm.

However, it is lucky that his daughter is bubbly and warm enough to cut through the frosty exterior that forms Jughead Jones's defensive layers. Instead, Bailey's friendliness completely obliterates any of Jughead's hesitation.

"Juggie!" Bailey exclaims as her arms unwrap from her grandfather's neck before opening out to the man standing behind him, quite visibly indicating that she wants to be handed to Jughead. FP obliges, turning to hand his granddaughter to her father who is fighting the urge to freeze up from his nervousness.

However, as Jughead is handed his daughter to hold her for the very first time, all his nerves and all his fears melt away as Bailey's little arms wrap around his neck and she cuddles up to him in a similar way as she hugged to FP. Holding his little girl in arms, Jughead can't hold back the smile that spreads across his lips as he reciprocates Bailey's embrace just a little more hesitantly.

After their initial hug, Bailey stays in Jughead's arms. But, as he holds her he can feel her squirming around with excitement as she turns back to the older Jones.

"Grandpa! Grandpa, look! This is Bailey's daddy! Juggie!"

The three adults who witness the three-year-old's words can't hold back their smiles as she relishes in the novelty of proudly showing her father off.

This prompts a little flurry of questions from FP and it's only as Bailey is distracted with telling her grandfather all about Jughead as he listens on to every detail that he already knows about his own son when Betty hands the backpack that is hooked over her shoulder to her little girl's father, preparing for the handover.

"So that's hers?" Jughead questions as he gestures to the pink backpack that Betty is trying to hand to him.

"Yeah, I think I grew out of _Barbie_ around about the same time you grew out of _Hot Wheels_."

Jughead chuckles with a knowing nod before offering his hand out to take the backpack that Betty proceeds to hand him.

"So, pretty much anything that you might possibly need for her up until she turns ten is in there... There's a change of clothes in there in case she gets grubby or spills something, I've packed her lunch and enough snacks to feed a third-world country and both her favourite book and her soft toy are in there if she gets upset. Also, Bailey was complaining of an earache yesterday afternoon so I've put some children's Panadol in there just in case, make sure you read the box for the dosage. Now, your dad pretty much knows the drill, but just call me if you need anything at all."

Jughead just nods in acknowledgment of Betty who he can see is just as well-organised as ever; a small smirk curling on the corner of his lips. She takes note of the expression and her brows furrow in frustration, not seeing what he could possibly find funny in her spiel.

" _What_?" she pouts.

"Nothing..." Jughead replies, the smirk still etched into his lips while the wordless look she gives him in return urges him to explain the reason behind his expression. "It's just... It's just odd seeing you in mum-mode like this. It's like the sixteen-year-old girl I used to know, just in Mama-bear form."

"Mum-mode isn't just a _mode_ , Jughead. Mum-mode is my _life,_ something which that sixteen-year-old had to get up to speed on pretty, damn quick" Betty explains with a roll of her eyes, gesturing to her daughter's backpack that she has just handed over to him.

Jughead doesn't quite know what to say to that. He hadn't meant it in the way that Betty had taken it, only intending to remark on what a different side of her it is for him to see, while so similar at the same time. But, after feeling as though he has already put his foot in it, Jughead doesn't know quite what to say next, falling to silence instead.

"Look, Jug, there's something I was going to mention to you... Now, no pressure whatsoever but I have plans next Tuesday and I was going to ask my parents to look after Bailey. But, I was thinking about it and I thought that _you_ might be interested in looking after her for the evening instead, only if you feel up to it... But, like I said, no pressure..."

The look on Jughead's face in response to her offer is unintentionally skeptical but he just can't believe that Betty is willing to extends such a big opportunity to him this soon. _He's_ not even quite sure if he deserves it...

" _Really_? You want me to look after her for an evening? On my own?"

Betty nods quickly, before holding her hands out to him in an unassuming gesture.

"Like I said, no pressure, you don't have to. I can just ask my parents. Or FP might be able to do it. Or Archie and Veronica if none of the others are able to..."

Jughead shakes his head, trying to indicate for her to stop rattling off suggestions. After all, it's not the offer itself, but rather it's the fact that she's offering it to _him_.

"No, I'll do it. I want to do it. Just tell me a time and I'll be there. Thank you, Betts.."

Betty seems to relax and a smile takes place of her previous agitation.

"I'm glad... Now, I'll be leaving just before five so come any time before then..."

#

With Bailey spending the day with father and grandfather, Betty uses the day to get her errands done that are little harder to do with her three-year-old.

So, she's just walked in the door, arriving home from the tasks that she's already raced around to and completed so far this morning. She's hoping to get a start on some other chores around the house after just quickly taking a moment to pull her phone out and type out replies to a number of messages that have built up since she last checked her phone.

 _'Thank you, thank you, thank you!'_ is the message that goes out first.

 _'No. I haven't. I know I'm running out of time... And sorry just making the most of B not being home. I'll call you tonight Xx'_ is followed by a nip of Betty's lip.

 _'I know, haven't forgotten. Can't today, she's not with me'_ is sent off with a sigh.

All three texts go out to all three different recipients. Then, Betty has barely started on her next task before one of the three quickly returns Betty's message with a phone call as the young mum answers her phone with an exasperated sigh.

"Hi mum... Why isn't Bailey with me? Well, because it's a Friday. You know that..." Betty claps a hand to her head with frustration, _knowing_ what's coming next...

After all, when Jughead had unknowingly left Betty sixteen-and-pregnant, Alice had come down hard on her opinion of her daughter's ex-boyfriend, along with his father. And, although Alice knows that she and her husband rotate Friday's with Bailey's other grandfather to care for their mutual grandchild, Betty _knows_ that her mother has never approved of the arrangement, even offering to take Bailey each Friday in lieu of FP. But, Betty has always stuck to her guns and maintained the fact that FP has just as much right to know her daughter and to be involved in Bailey's life as her own parents do.

"Bailey's with _him_?"

"Yes, she's at FP's... And she's with _her father_."

Betty figures that her mother will hear of the news soon enough and in fact she's surprised that she hasn't already. Betty also knows that facing issues head-on with Alice Cooper is the best way to take it, thus leading to a silence over the phone-line.

"That Jones boy is back?" is the first thing that her mother musters up, almost choking on the words, clearly taken by surprise. Then, gaining just a smidgen of composure, her initial question is followed by another that is tainted with surprise. "He's with Bailey?!"

"Yes, Jughead's back. And, 'that Jones boy' is Bailey's dad... So, _yes_ , my daughter is with her father today."

From the other side of the phone, Alice silently gawks at what her youngest daughter is telling and Betty can just _imagine_ the disapproving look that reflects her total disdain on face. Then, after a very long silence, Alice suddenly clears her voice over the phone.

"So, you and Bailey will be at lunch tomorrow?"

"Yes mum..." Betty replies, drawing her words out before exhaling a sigh.

"Good. We'll discuss this all then. Bye darling, love you."

Then, without another word, Alice ends the phone call and Betty curses herself under her breath. She instantly finds herself considering what believable illnesses she can muster up in the space of twenty four hours to be able to get herself off the hook from visiting her parents for the monthly Cooper family lunch tomorrow, _especially_ that she knows all too well what the hot topic of discussion will be...

#

 **A little over four years ago...**

" _Jones... Visitor" a prison guard bellows gruffly, announcing the presence of the anxious sixteen-year-old girl who slowly follows suit behind the burly guard until she's lead to the cell of FP Jones, with just a row of dirty, tarnished bars standing between them._

 _Instantly, the middle-aged man's eyes fly up. Sure, it's a familiar announcement. But, he's not used to hearing that word after_ _ **his**_ _surname. After all, with his son AWOL, his daughter in another state and his oldest friend having been buried just over a month ago, FP Jones does_ _ **not**_ _find himself with many visitors._

" _Betty. What are you doing here? Does your mother know you're here?"_

 _Laying eyes on his visitor, the first thing that he is struck by is how tired and worn the young girl looks; far too much for someone her age..._

 _Standing there in the visitors side of the dark and dingy cell, Betty Cooper looks like she hasn't slept in weeks. But, to be fair, she probably **hasn't**. After all, between crying her broken heart to sleep at night and then waking up early in the morning to violent waves of nausea, the teenager really hasn't slept much at all of late._

" _Hi, Mr. Jones... How are you?" Betty asks as she fidgets with the bracelet on her wrist, buying herself a bit of time with small-talk before launching into the reason behind her visit. She doesn't even bother trying to answer his second question; they both know the answer to that one._

" _As g_ _ood as can be expected while you're in the clink. Thanks Betty. How are you?"_

" _I'm-" Betty begins to give the man in front of her the standard 'I'm good, thanks' answer before she stops herself, feeling inclined to answer him a little more truthfully. "I'm ok."_

" _Have you heard from him?"_

 _FP doesn't need to clarify who the 'him' in question is for both he and Betty to know who he's talking about._

 _Initially Betty shakes her head in answer to the question, biting her lip nervously before she gains the courage to look up and look the older man in the eye._

" _No... I haven't heard from him yet. No one has. That's actually why I'm here... I was hoping that he might have spoken to you... I really need to reach him, Mr. Jones. It's important."_

 _With a sigh and a grimace at the fact that he's going to have to give the young girl the answer that she's not wanting to hear, FP shakes his head._

" _No... I'm sorry. I haven't heard a thing from him since he left either."_

" _Are you in contact with his mum or Jellybean? Do you know if they have?"_

 _FP shakes his head again, his eyebrows furrowing a little as he tries to read the reason behind the determination in the young girl in front of him._

" _No. Well at least not when I last spoke to Gladys, which was earlier in the week, anyway..."_

 _The older man watches the girl in front of him as her face falls in disappointment and her eyes stay glued to the ground with a surrendering sigh._

" _Oh okay... Thanks anyway, Mr. Jones. But, um, if you do see or hear from him, could you please tell him that I_ _ **really**_ _need to talk to him."_

 _FP can hear the sadness and resignation in the teenager's voice._

" _Betty? What's going on?"_

 _The young blonde exhales a small sigh before she reaches into her handbag to fish out a small, thin photo that is no bigger than a postcard._

" _If you do see him, can you give him this?"_

 _Through the bars, she hands it over to the older man and nips at her lip while she watches his face intently, clearly feeling apprehensive._

" _You're pregnant?"_

 _FP almost chokes. He looks between the black-and-white ultrasound photo that he has been handed, noting the detail 'COOPER, Elizabeth' that is printed in the top corner of the image, before looking back to the girl standing in front of him, his sons ex-girlfriend._

 _"And it's Jughead's kid, isn't it?"_

 _Betty nods sadly in answer to the question and as she stands there, FP can't help but think that the heartbroken young girl looks so much younger than her sixteen years, yet knowing she's facing a situation that is so much more adult than her age._

" _I've just gone four months."_

" _Did he not know before he left?"_

 _Betty shakes her head, looking to the ground while a palm subconsciously comes to rest on her abdomen that is just a smidgen plumper than it had been even just a few days earlier._

" _No. It was too early... He didn't know because I didn't either."_

 _FP nods in acknowledgement, taking a deep breath as he runs a hand through his hair, processing the enormous news that Betty has brought along with her._

" _Betty... For your sake I hope this isn't the case, but what if he doesn't come back? Do you know what you're going to do?"_

 _Despite how weak and nervous the young girl looks, when FP asks her that question there's a streak of determination and courage in the teenager._

" _I'm having the baby. I'll raise him or her with_ _ **or**_ _without him."_

#

Jughead and Bailey are seated beside each other at the small table in FP's trailer. Jughead is hearing _all_ about how to play dolls as the little girl babbles on animatedly, instructing him. Then, as she directs her father on what to do with her toys, Bailey has Jughead practicing with her own baby doll that is currently called 'Casey'. However, apparently that name is subject to change seeing as FP mentioned the same doll was called both 'Nemo' and 'Nanna' last week, then 'Uncle Archie' the week before that.

The father and daughter are interrupted by FP who walks over from where he had been fossicking with something in the hallway as the duo played together.

"Hey Bailey... Do you wanna see a photo?"

Having just yanked her doll from Jughead's arms, showing him how to wrap the baby in a blanket, Casey is quickly forgotten about as the doll is dropped on the floor when Bailey heads straight over to her grandfather with excitement.

"Yes please, Grandpa!"

As he crouches down beside her, FP gently hands the little girl the black-and-white photo that is just over four years old. Meanwhile, Jughead too stands up from his seat at the table, walking over to his father and his daughter, looking at what she's holding as he stands behind her.

"What is it?" Bailey asks with a serious expression and crinkled eyebrows, first looking up to her grandfather and then to her father who is standing behind her. Catching sight of what the little girl is looking at, Jughead instantly knows exactly what it is, only confirmed when he notes the recognisable name in the corner of the photograph.

"It's a baby, Bailey."

After he answers the three-year-old's question, Bailey looks at FP cynically, not quite believing her grandfather at first.

"Silly Grandpa!" Bailey giggles. "That's not what a baby looks like!"

"Yes it is, missy. That's what a very, very small baby looks like when they're growing in their mummy's tummy."

Listening to the explanation, Bailey ponders over the idea and thinks about what her grandfather is telling her for a moment, still uncertain as she looks between FP and the photograph before he continues to speak to her.

"And, do you know what, Bailey?"

"What?"

FP points to the picture in the little girl's hands, looking at her with a kind smile.

"That's a photo of _you_ when you were in your mummy's tummy."

"That's not Bailey!" the little girl fires back in debate instantly, before holding her hands out to present herself dramatically. "Bailey looks like _this_!"

FP chuckles at his granddaughter's insistence as he glances down to the ultrasound photo and then back up to the little girl.

"It is you, Bailey. You look very different because you were a tiny, little baby. In fact, your mum didn't even know that you were a little girl then."

"Really?"

Doubt is evidently beginning to creep into what the little girl had been so insistent on and certain that she knew just moments ago.

" _Really_."

After hearing her grandfather's confirmation once again, Bailey's view on the photo changes and she succumbs to his knowledge as she erupts with a little giggle, looking back to the photo.

"That's Bailey!" she smiles, holding the photo that they'd been talking about up to her grandfather before waving it up in the air to show her father with a smile, too. "Look, Juggie! Look! It's Bailey!"

Looking down at his little girl, Jughead shares her smile before Bailey hands the ultrasound photo back to her grandfather after he'd handed it to her just minutes ago. Then, as the little girl races back over to the table where she and Jughead had been playing dolls earlier, FP passes the black-and-white photo he'd been given four years earlier to Jughead.

"It's yours, son. The photo _and_ the kid..." FP chuckles to himself for just a moment. " _Keep it_. Betty gave it to me years ago in prison when she was looking for you. She told me to give it to you when I saw you... Better late than never, I guess."

* * *

 **Wow, that chapter is very, very different to what it was originally! But, I am so much happier with the end result of both this chapter and next now.**

 **I hope you all liked the little flashback! I've got at least another two planned ones coming up, possibly more if you guys like them. If you have any particular flashback requests, let me know. I'll do my best to work them in as I like having a bit of a parallel between past/present day moments.**

 **So, the question of who's-Betty-talking-to continues, adding a couple of other people she's messaging into the mix. Also, I hope you liked the little Jughead/Bailey/FP bits. Originally there was another sweet, little Jughead & Bailey moment in this chapter, but this chapter and next have changed a lot from their original plan so you'll see that one in chapter nineteen instead. Plus, there's a Cooper family dinner coming... **

**Don't forget to let me know what you thought of this chapter as well as where you think that things will go from here.** **Thank you to Bughead4Life, Alana Lissens, hulkvengers, violet1429, Spicylatina4 and violateforever for leaving a review on the last chapter. I appreciate the support immensely.**

 **Next chapter: Flashback number two! Also, Jughead grows closer to Bailey...**


	19. Theirs

**Happy Riverdale day! It's 2AM here in Australia right now and I won't actually get a chance to watch the premiere until Friday, but I had to pop this one up to celebrate this glorious day, anyway!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINETEEN – Theirs**

Since lunchtime Bailey's yawns have grown more and more frequent, her blinks have grown slower and slower and she has found herself rubbing at her eyes over and over again. Her grandfather who knows the little girl's routine is quite well aware of the predictable path that things will follow from here on out. So, consequently, FP warns Jughead that his daughter looks more than ready for nap-time.

"I think one little lady over here is ready for bed. If you're gonna have her on your own for a night next week you should get as much practice in as you can before then... I'm here if you need me, but it's over to you, son."

Instantly, a little streak of nervousness floods through Jughead, clearly written on his bewildered face before he slowly regains his composure as he turns to the blonde hair, blue-eyed little beauty who is leaning against the arm of the lounge, clearly fighting to stay awake.

"Bailey? Are you ready for a nap, sweetie?"

The typically bubbly little girl grows noticeably more subdued just nodding silently in answer to her fathers question as her blue eyes shut just that little bit more.

"Hot doggie..."

The two words jolt Jughead in an unexpected way.

He knows that his father named his dog Hot Dog after his childhood toy, but he doesn't know if that's what Bailey's referring to.

She could be.

She most _definitely_ could be...

However, it's too much like a moment of déjà vu, especially hearing the name in context... It reminds Jughead far too much of _himself_ at that age, recalling the way he would seek out comfort and ask for his soft toy with the very same name as he grew sleepy or if he was upset.

But, it doesn't quite make sense to him. He hasn't seen his old toy in years, certainly not since he returned to Riverdale and not for many, many years before that. He just assumed that he'd been forgotten about and then lost along the way, possibly being damaged and discarded at one point or another the years.

Because, surely Bailey's just talking about the _dog_ Hot Dog...

 **\- 3 years & 8 months ago -**

 _Just three weeks after Bailey was born, her grandfather was released from prison._

 _So, after making a brief stop to pick up one item from his trailer, the Cooper residence was FP Jones's very first port-of-call as a free man..._

 _FP couldn't wait for his final days in prison to slowly grind by, all the while knowing that each day, each minute and each second nears closer and closer to meeting his new granddaughter. After all, on the day that her daughter was born, Betty had made sure that FP was contacted and called, being told that he is now the grandfather to a beautiful, healthy baby girl called Bailey, weighing six pounds and nine ounces._

 _After being begrudgingly invited into the home by Alice with both an unimpressed eye-roll and an unwelcoming sigh, FP slowly makes his way into the Cooper home, quick to catch sight of the new mother as she holds her pink bundle in her arms from where she's resting on the couch in the family's lounge room._

" _Congratulations..."_

 _With a small smile, Betty slowly stands up from her seat, being especially careful not to disturb her newborn who is sleeping soundly in her arms. However, it doesn't deter her from slowly walking across the room and over to her visitor to present the new grandfather with the reason why he's here._

 _"Hi, Mr. Jones... Meet Bailey. Would you like to hold her?"_

" _Are you sure?" FP's expression is filled with equal parts panic and surprise._

 _Betty gives the first-time grandfather a warm smile as she closes the gap between them, walking right over to her ex-boyfriend's father to stand in front of him. FP doesn't hesitate in putting the big box that's under his arms down as Betty, ever so slowly and ever so gently, hands her baby over to its grandfather._

" _Just like riding a bike..." FP chuckles nervously, a little stiff and rigid as he holds his granddaughter in his arms for the very first time. After all, it's been a good few years since he held a baby, especially a newborn, marking the first time since his daughter was this age._

 _Then as he begins to find a rhythm while he rocks back and forth, FP slowly grows more and more relaxed. In fact, he can't stop the more genuine chuckle this time as he admires the baby in his arms who he can't tear his eyes away from, completely smitten._

" _Wow... She's just something else, isn't she? Bailey is absolutely beautiful, Betty. She looks..."_ _FP begins, before trailing off, worrying that his comment may be insensitive or that the mention of the absent father of her child may upset the teenager. So, he stops himself before his sentiment is out in the open._ _However Betty knows where FP's words were going and she knows exactly what he was about to tell her, so she finishes it off for him._

"- _Like him? I_ _ **know**_ _."_

 _Wordlessly, FP nods in response, his eyes briefly flickering up just in time to see Betty sigh before his attention is stolen away by his granddaughter once again._

" _Everyone keeps telling how much she looks like me and how much of me they see in Bailey. But, I can't see past the Jughead in her..." Betty adds with a sigh as she watches her daughter who is settled in her grandfather's arms intently._

 _Sensing Betty's sadness at the mention of his son -the father of her child- FP changes the subject although he's unsure if he's going to make things better or worse for her as he nods in the direction of the box he had brought over and put down on the coffee table before being handed his granddaughter._

" _It's just something little, but I thought you might like Bailey to have it."_

 _Betty gives FP an appreciative smile as she picks up the box with pink sparkles on the outside, slowly opening it to reveal a big, plush toy dog._

" _It was Jughead's as a child... Hot Dog. I just thought that you might like Bailey to have it now. But, I understand if it's-"_

 _Tears prick Betty's eyes as she cuts off FP's rambles with an earnest smile of appreciation for the sentimental gift. She picks her daughter's present up and takes the soft toy that she can still remember a little raven-haired boy carrying around many, many years ago into her hands, hugging it limply._

" _I remember this guy... He used to be Jughead's favourite. We used to pretend that Hot Dog would play together with my soft toy cat, Caramel. Thank you... It's a beautiful present for Bailey. I'm really glad that she can have something from him. Thank you, Mr. Jones."_

 _FP scoffs at the way that the teenager addresses him so formally, as his jolt disturbs the girls settled daughter who is in his arms, unintentionally waking her from her nap._

 _"Please. Call me FP, Betty" FP manages to get out before both he and Betty's attention is stolen by the newborn who begins to whimper and squirm in her grandfather's arms, her little face scrunching up unhappily._

 _Betty doesn't miss the instantaneous look of terror on FP's face as he feels sorely out of practice in soothing newborns, more than happy to send Bailey back to her mother as soon as she offers._

 _As soon as Bailey returns to Betty's arms, the teen mum tries a few things in what has been all one big guessing game during the three weeks since her daughters birth. However, Betty quickly determines that the baby's nappy doesn't need to be changed, she knows that she's not due for another feed for quite a while yet and she comes to realise that she just needs to be calmed down as Betty finds the best way to soothe her daughters upset, cooing and hushing comfortingly as she rocks Bailey back and forth in her arms, while gently patting her back._

 _When the newborn finally begins to settle in her mother's arms, FP can't hold back his sad smile as he watches the scene before him._

" _I'm sorry, Betty... I'm sorry that he's not here for you both. I don't know if it's any comfort at all –probably not- but I think that he would be here, I think he'd want to be, if he knew."_

 _FP's words are completely bittersweet. They provide Betty just a measure of consolation in remembering that Jughead hadn't knowingly abandoned their child. But, by the same token, it hurts thinking of what could have been if things had gone even just a_ _little_ _differently..._

 _In the wake of FP's words, Betty looks as though she might cry as she supportively holds her daughter upright on herself, her baby pressed against her chest. Bailey's head rests against Betty's shoulder as she holds her baby girl close and tight._

 _Then, blinking away the moisture of her tears that haven't fallen, Betty wills herself to be strong enough for the both of them as she nestles a little more closely into her daughter, pressing a kiss to the back of her baby's head._

" _I know. I think you're right about that, about him... But, the fact of the matter is that he's_ _ **not**_ _here and I have to live with that while I raise his child."_

#

Hearing the mumbled name of his childhood soft toy coming from his own daughter as she repeats it once again, Jughead's face scrunches up over the familiarity of it all. Meanwhile, the same two words coming from the three-year-old spring her grandfather to action as he heads straught for Bailey's backpack.

"I'll be right back..."

As FP races off, leaving the father and daughter alone briefly, Bailey's tiredness becomes even more evident as she rubs at her eyes before holding her arms out towards Jughead, indicating that she wants to be held.

After a moment of hesitation, waiting for and half-expecting Bailey to pull away and realise that she's signalling to hug _him_ and not someone else, Jughead takes his daughter in his arms and picks her up. Instantly, Bailey relaxes into her father as her little golden head falls against his shoulder, resting on him while he holds her with one hand and clasps his other to the back of her head, comfortingly, turning his hold on her into more of a hug.

Then, just seconds later, FP is back, bearing Bailey's soft toy which had been her fathers, too.

"Here you go, sweetheart."

"Thank you, Grandpa" Bailey replies politely despite her drowsiness.

Immediately after taking her stuffed animal from her grandfather, the little girl tucks Hot Dog under her arm while Jughead just looks between his father and his daughter. Not only is seeing his old soft toy a blast from the past, but Jughead is more than a little stunned to be seeing it tucked under his own child's arm, quite clearly seeing that by the looks of it, Bailey has well and truly claimed Hot Dog as her own.

FP reads the surprise on his sons face and quietly fills the blanks in for Jughead. Despite the fact that she's in earshot, the little girl is far too exhausted to take any note of their conversation as the older man begins to speak in a hushed tone.

"I gave it to Betty to give to her the very first time I met Bailey... It was the first thing I did after I got out. She was about three weeks old by then but she was still so tiny" FP reminisces with a smile over his first moments with the little girl that has gone on to have such a big impact on his life.

This nostalgia lasts until another memory surges through FP as his face grows serious and a little somber.

"I tell you, with that teeny, tiny little baby in her arms, Betty looked so scared and so young that day..."

FP doesn't intend to make his son feel bad; he is simply just caught up in reminiscing on his sudden memories from that day. Yet, guilt still pulses through Jughead as he exhales a sigh at hearing about his ex-girlfriend and the state he'd left the girl he loved in. However, Jughead forces himself to keep his focus on the now as his attention turns to the little girl in his arms that is holding his old toy in her own arms with a little smile.

"Thanks for passing him on, dad... I'm glad that she has Hot Dog now."

The father and son share a small, silent smile before the older of the two looks to the little girl who is quite clearly growing sleepier and sleepier as he strokes the top of her golden locks affectionately.

"Bailey? Did you know that Hot Dog used to be your dad's toy when _he_ was little?"

Despite her fatigue, Bailey's eyes light up just a little, although her sleepiness is still evident in her voice.

"Really?"

" _Yeah_... He used to be mine, too" Jughead confirms, smiling down to the three-year-old in his arms as he scratches the hair between the eyes of the soft toy that is in his daughters arms as though it were a real dog.

A little glimmer of joy spreads across the tired little girl's eyes as she looks up to her father from where she's resting in the crook of his neck, hearing about their common link with a little smile on her face.

However, it doesn't last long and after looking up to Jughead, Bailey's head falls back down on his chest as she nestles a little more closely into him, melting his heart as he strokes her back softly, attempting to settle her.

Then, with a wordless wink from his father, FP slips out of the room, leaving Jughead alone with his daughter.

After a quick sigh of nervousness, Jughead tries to focus on his goal; settling Bailey and getting her down for her nap. Then, with both his daughter and his childhood toy in his arms, Jughead slowly carries them both through the trailer until he reaches and walks into his old room that his father had Bailey-ified after he left.

Pulling back the dusty pink covers with one hand awkwardly, Jughead tries to lower his daughter into his old bed as gently as he can while avoiding disrupting her. However, even despite his best efforts, Bailey shifts and wiggles around for a few minutes after her head hits the pillow as Jughead tucks her in and smooths down a wayward curl that is rebelling from among her golden locks.

"Sweet dreams, Bay" Jughead whispers, startling himself at how the nickname just slips from his lips so naturally that he doesn't even have a chance to catch it before it's out.

The little girl groans a little, squirming onto her side at the noise from Jughead's words. However, the fact that she's half-asleep doesn't stop her from trying to reply, although she doesn't quite manage to get Jughead's usual title of 'Bailey's daddy' out in its entirety with the temptation of sleep looming nearer and nearer as the overtired little girl murmurs into the air.

"Night daddy..."

* * *

 **Hope you liked flashback number two and a few sweet little moments! Jug and Bailey are getting there. Slowly but surely... But, there's still a whole lot more left to come. Doug's days are ticking down, something else is about to shake things up and Jughead only has one, single chance to prove himself.**

 **Thanks to everyone left a review on the last chapter. The support means the world to me and I appreciate you all immensely for sticking with me and our favourite characters along this journey. I hope you continue to enjoy where things are headed from here on out! Be sure to let me know what you thought of this one and if you want more.**

 **Ooh, also, I have already mentioned it on my other story, but I have also just recently got a tumblr. It's been off to a little bit of a slow start, but I plan to post little sneak peeks, teasers and photos that complement both my stories on there. I'm 'riverheadcf', check it out!**

 **Next chapter: Jughead faces a tough question from Bailey, before learning an even tougher truth.**


	20. A Pinkie Promise And A Punch To The Gut

**CHAPTER TWENTY - A Pinkie Promise And A Punch To The Gut**

After having spent the day together with his daughter and his father, Jughead offered to take Bailey home instead of Betty picking her up as was originally arranged. Although he offered to do it to on the premise of ' _to_ _make it easier on you, Betty'_ , Jughead's not quite ready to admit that it's because he doesn't want the day to come to an end just yet.

So, just after four thirty that afternoon Bailey says goodbye to her beloved grandfather as she and Jughead -who has her pink Barbie backpack slung across his shoulder- set off for Betty's apartment that is barely a half an hour walk from the trailer park.

Tackling the first ten minutes and the most nerve-wracking part of the walk, Jughead alternated between picking his daughter up to keep her safe from the 'busy' road nearby -with only a car or two passing by every few minutes- or clenching onto her hand tightly as he watched her every move, anticipating any moment that she may move even a fraction away from him or try to release his hold on her hand.

After the most stressful part of the walk is over, Jughead is able to relax as he and Bailey walk side-by-side, hand-in-hand, cutting across a park and then through Riverdale's quieter streets that barely see any traffic.

He's just asked her about her favourite book, prompting a long explanation of several of her favourite picture books, their plot, the characters in each book and her favourite page of each. Jughead also makes a mental note of warning that his kid is a _total_ plot-spoiler, complacently giving away the ending of each book.

After telling her father about _'Gary'_ , the bird that couldn't fly, a brief silence falls between Bailey and Jughead. It's then, as he momentarily checks that they're still on the right path of the streets that he hasn't walked in over four years, when he's sprung by another topic of discussion that Bailey raises this time, a discussion that he is completely unprepared for.

"Juggie?" a small voice beside him says. Although Bailey speaks up in little more than a whisper, it's enough to catch Jughead's attention from where they stand in a empty lot on the side of the quiet road.

"Yeah, sweetie?" Jughead responds a little distractedly as he spots the street sign for Ember Road, confirming that he's on the right track to reach their destination.

"Are you ever gonna go'd away again, Juggie? Will you hide again?"

As if his daughters two questions aren't enough to tear his heart out and rip it in two, looking down at his little girl crushes him all over again...

Looking down to Bailey, it breaks Jughead's heart seeing the sadness within her baby blue eyes and the insecurity in her body language as she looks away from him just a little, like she's scared of hearing the answer to her own question.

However, the answer to Bailey's question is not quite so simple, especially not to a three-year-old...

After all, even despite the little, blonde detail that has turned his world upside down since returning to Riverdale, it has been surprisingly easy for Jughead to slip back into town, his old life and the lives of his friends. In fact, in many ways it feels like he never left and that he's returned home...

 _But it's not anymore_.

No, his home, his life, his belongings have all been rooted in Oklahoma now. While it has been easy enough to revert back to the first seventeen years of his life in the small town, it's not reality. He's going to run out of his accrued annual leave and he's going to have to return to Oklahoma, to the life that he made, to his job and to his housemate. And, at one point or another, he will have to back a decision on whether or not he stays with his new life in Oklahoma, just finding a way to incorporate Bailey into that life, or, if he will uproot all over again and return to Riverdale to be with his daughter.

However, no matter what he ultimately chooses, Jughead knows that he will still have to leave, either to tie up loose ends or to simply return home. And, either option will result in exactly what Bailey is fearing, as she has just asked her father about.

He can't tell Bailey straight-out that he _will_ have to leave again and that he doesn't know how long for with his daughter standing there, looking up to him, clearly fearful of the idea of being abandoned and of losing him. Jughead also knows that he only has one chance from Betty and that if he screws that up, he is going to lose his one and only opportunity to be involved in Bailey's life.

So, standing there, feeling more than a little bewildered, Jughead has to juggle the truth, with his responsibilities and his little girl's feelings, although he knows which factor is by far the most important.

Then, taking a deep breath to try and recover from his pounding guilt that comes as a result of his three-year-old's questions, Jughead slowly crouches down in front of the little girl and settles a firm, stable hand on either side of her shoulders, reassuringly.

"Bailey, I want you to know that even if I ever do have to go away again, I will always, _always_ come back to you. I promise."

Her father's answer slowly brings a smile to the little girl's face as her down-turned gaze slowly returns to Jughead, sharing her smile with him.

"Pinkie promise?" Bailey confirms as she offers her smallest finger, holding it out to him.

With a little chuckle, Jughead takes one hand off of Bailey's shoulder as he follows her movement and takes her pinkie within his, giving it a little shake of agreement.

" _Pinkie_ promise."

Jughead's confirmation and reassurance only brightens his daughter's big grin that radiates through not only her lips but also her eyes, reminding Jughead ever so much of the mother of his child. Then, as her eyes shine brightly up at her father, Bailey makes an honest admission that melts Jughead's heart _completely_.

"Juggie? I like having a daddy."

Jughead notes the way she looks up to him and the way her eyes dart away from his glance as she wears a nervous, little smile, almost as though she's not sure if she's said something wrong or not. So, to try and rectify any uncertainties, Jughead opens his arms out to the little girl standing in front of him.

"Come here, sweetie."

Seeing Jughead's open arms gives Bailey a little surge of confidence as she flies into them without any hesitation. Then, the little girl throws her arms around her fathers neck as she immediately makes herself comfortable, resting her head against his shoulder.

Jughead can't hold back the smile on his face nor the way that his heart begins to soar at the feeling of Bailey melting into his arms... _his_ little girl.

From where she's being held in her father's protective arms, Bailey hugs him tightly and Jughead hugs her back, pressing a kiss to the side of her head as he whispers into her golden curls.

"Daddy loves you so much, Bailey. I'm sorry."

#

After Jughead and Bailey's deep and meaningful on their way to Betty's, he continued carrying her home as Bailey slowly fell asleep against him, relaxing to the gentle rhythm of her father's steps from within his arms.

Following a gentle knock at the door upon arriving at Betty's, the young mother is quick to answer and the door to the father-daughter duo, instantly clutching a hand over heart at the sight before her. It melts Betty's heart seeing her little girl fast asleep in the arms of the father of her child, Bailey's head resting against Jughead as she nestles into the crook of his neck, with her little, limp hands hanging around him in a loose hug.

"Aw! Look at you two!"

Stepping forward from her doorstep, Betty takes a step closer towards Jughead, laying a gentle hand to their sleeping daughter's back, where she has crashed against him. Then, after gently stroking the side of Bailey's face, only confirming that her little girl is dead to the world, Betty holds the door open for Jughead as he carries their child inside.

"You can put her on the lounge if you want. As much as I love it when she sleeps, I should probably wake her up soon or she'll be up all night..."

Jughead follows Betty's instruction and carefully lays their little girl down on the lounge in the small apartment, grabbing a throw-rug nearby, spreading it across Bailey's little body with a smile, before returning to his child's mother who's leaning against the kitchen bench.

"I'm sorry... She fell asleep on me when we were walking over. I probably shouldn't have let her fall asleep if I'd have known she won't sleep well tonight."

"Don't apologise" Betty reassures with a warm smile in Jughead's direction. "She obviously felt very comfortable with you, Jug..."

Betty's comment brings a brief smile to Jughead's face, before he is distracted by a question playing on his mind.

"By the way, Betts, there's something I've been meaning to ask you... Look, I want to get Bailey something but I'm not too up to scratch with purchases for three-year-olds and I don't know what she already has. Is there anything that you can think of that she might like or anything that she has been wanting?"

Betty tips her head to the side, looking at Jughead intently before answering his question.

"Oh, Juggie, you don't need to do that. Don't feel like you need to buy Bailey's love."

"I know, Betts... But she's my little girl. I want to get her something special."

Betty feels the warmth of Jughead's words as a swarm of little butterflies ripple through her belly. After all, it's all she's ever wanted for her little girl; their little girl. She's just wanted Bailey to have a father, to be loved, to be loved by her father...

In the silence that Jughead's words have triggered for Betty, she fails to give him any specific ideas in answer to his question, unintentionally, but he speaks up again before he has a chance to.

"Look, if you can't give me any specific ideas, don't worry... I'll think of something."

Betty can't tell him not to and she doesn't try to talk him out of it. After all, it doesn't belong to her to tell the father of her child not to get their daughter anything.

"In that case, don't let me stop you. But, just don't try and buy Bailey, okay? It's being there for her and spending time with her that is the important part, Jughead. Trust me."

Jughead nods at Betty's admonition and while he takes her advice to heart, her words do nothing to deter him from his intentions.

They both feel the gradual ending to the conversation after Betty's final words of advice are followed by a small smile that the former lovers share in the silence that ensues. Then, after feeling like it's his cue to go, Jughead slowly walks towards the door.

"Jughead, wait."

Following Betty's call, Jughead stops on the spot and turns back to the blonde who approaches him.

However, looking at the man she used to know so well, Betty sees the lingering remnants of a smile on his face and it's quite clear to her that he had a good day; that he had a good day with their girl. Seeing the look on his face, she can't quite bring herself to finish what she was going to say.

"Actually, don't worry. It's nothing."

Jughead shoots her a curious look, followed by a shrug.

"Okay... Anyway, I'll be in touch with you about catching up again soon. There are a couple things I need to do, but-"

This time, its Jughead's turn to fail to convey the entirety of what he had been going to say just moments before he trailed off, leaving Betty with a puzzled expression too.

"What?"

"Never mind... Anyway, I better head off."

Betty nods in acknowledgement and the two parents share a brief hug goodbye before Jughead slinks out as Betty pulls her phone out, reading the message that's waiting for her.

 _Soooo...?_

 _No. I'll explain more later on, but I don't know what the best thing to do is... Might just wait._

#

On his way back from Betty's, Jughead returns home via _Pop's_ , picking up two burgers to-go for himself and his dad.

He's only been waiting in the corner for barely five minutes or so but he's already been the recipient of numerous glares and unimpressed eye-rolls from fellow schoolmates he had left when he left town four years back.

The pattern of cold and frosty looks is interrupted when a red-head waltzes over to Jughead too with the same purpose as him, picking up a takeaway dinner for himself and his wife.

"I forgot how warm and friendly everyone in Riverdale is..." Jughead muses to Archie with a scoff in reference to all the dirty looks he has received upon seeing one of his only friends approaching him immediately after entering the diner. "Mind you, I care about it just as much as I did back in high school, but I thought that people were supposed to grow up after they left the educational hell-house."

Although his thick eyebrows had initially been furrowed at Jughead's first remark, the beanie-clad man can almost _see_ the understanding spread across his oldest friend's face the more that he explains about their former classmates.

" _Oh_... I might know what that's about..."

Jughead looks at his friend incredulously, his interest suddenly piqued.

"It's about something _other_ than self-entitled young adults?"

"It might be..."

Jughead's face scrunches up in a frown, recognising his childhood friend's suddenly timid disposition. He knows it from all the times that Archie would swear to his father he _hadn't_ just kicked the ball over the fence or when he would promise his mother he _didn't_ eat three cookies before dinner, spoiling his appetite.

"Archie? You are a _terrible_ liar. Talk to me... What do you know?"

The red-head is clearly uncomfortable, evident in his squinted eyes, clenched jaw and the way his arms extends to scratch the nape of his neck. Archie struggles to look Jughead in the eye as he slowly musters up the nerve to speak up.

"Look... After you left, everything kind of blew up here. First there was the drama of your disappearance. The rumour mill went crazy with theories about where you went and why you left. Then, just as _that_ started to die down people found out that Betty was pregnant and everything blew up all over again... Everyone assumed that you left her... That you left Riverdale, _because_ she fell pregnant."

Jughead leans into the bench behind him, looking for stability and support as his heart begins to pound and his gut slowly churns with guilt at hearing more about what he had unknowingly put his girlfriend through after leaving her, pregnant, to raise their daughter alone.

His guilt over all the suffering he had brought upon Betty and forced her and their daughter to endure through is something that Jughead doesn't think he'll ever be able to get over... That guilt is something that Jughead will carry with him, haunting him, for the rest of his life.

After noticing his friend exhale a heavy sigh, Archie assumes that his words have made him feel bad about himself over the conclusions that their classmates had made. He doesn't realise that, rather, it's thinking about Betty in that situation that is the reason behind his guilt. So, Archie elaborates on what he has just said to his oldest friend, meaning well.

"Don't worry, Betty did the best she could to diffuse the rumours but there was only so much she could say and do when everyone drew their own pretty strong conclusions. But, after everyone got over the shock, it was actually really surprising... In a lot of ways, it brought out the best in people and everyone's respect for Betty really shone through."

Archie's admission catches a guilt-ridden Jughead's attention enough to make him look up at his friend in surprise, looking for a further explanation.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It was like people, all the people you wouldn't expect it from, really seemed to try and rally around Betty and be supportive and considerate of her during her pregnancy. You know, it was just in the little things. Like, Reggie would offer to carry her books around for her at school and Cheryl would make sure she had a lift home every night. A lot people did a lot of little things like that. But the way people stepped up for Betty when she needed it, it was really quite spectacular."

Jughead exhales another sigh, before the smallest of smile threatens to curl on the corner of his lips. _He's glad_. While _he_ might not have been there for the mother of his child, he's glad that others were.

Archie's explanation prompts a brief silence between the two friends before Jughead changes the course of the conversation just a little after he releases another deep sigh.

"I screwed up, Arch. I screwed up _big time_. I didn't just ruin Betty's future, I ruined her whole life. Then there's my kid who didn't have a dad for almost the first four years of her life..." Jughead exhales a heavy, deep sigh that is dripping with guilt before he continues to reflect.

"We could have had a family, Arch. Betty, Bailey and I; we could have been a real, little family... Sure, we would have been young but I think Betty and I could have done it. I mean, look, she's done it all on her own."

Despite his bittersweet reflections, in an unexpected turn of events, there's an unusual flicker of positivity and optimism that distracts Jughead from seeing the bitter of the sweet.

"I know I have to find a way to live with the ramifications of my actions on mine, Betty and Bailey's lives, but for the first time things are looking up as much as they can... I haven't said anything to anyone else yet, but I'm actually thinking about moving back."

Archie smiles at his friends admission with genuine joy at the prospect. Meanwhile, Jughead's little streak of optimism and his rare moment of seeing the good in the bad results in him to continue pondering aloud.

"I don't know... I just feel like, maybe, one day, I'll be able to make things right... I don't know, but _maybe_ things can go back to the way they were supposed to be."

Glancing over to the beanie-clad young man sheepishly, Archie sees the poorly hidden smile that begins to spread across his friends face, churning his stomach.

He has to say something.

He has to warn him.

So, like ripping off a bandaid, it's his care for his friend that brings the impulsive red-head to blurt out the warning to one of his oldest friends, without even thinking twice.

"Oh, Juggie... Didn't you know that Betty's got a boyfriend?"

* * *

 **So, after much speculation, it turns out Betty _does_ have a boyfriend. Who is it? Is he someone Jughead knows or someone new? How does her boyfriend feel about Jughead reentering Betty's life to be in Bailey's? All I'll say is that there's a reason why Betty has been a little reserved in sharing details about her relationship... Any guesses? **

**Also, I hope you liked the little daddy-daughter moments earlier in the chapter, even though Jughead faced a tough question from Bailey, too. I know Jughead and Bailey moments are on demand and don't worry, there's more coming!**

 **Thank you to everyone who has continued to support this story. I appreciate the feedback immensely, you have no idea, and I cannot wait to see what you all thought of this chapter as well as where you think things are headed from here.**

 **Next chapter: Tensions rise and several relationships erupt when some people are moved to take a stand _for_ Jughead, while others are _against_ him. Who is involved? And who takes either side? Also, we have another flashback. What will it be this time?**


	21. Black And White

**CHAPTER TWENTY ONE – Black And White**

Upon returning home from _Pop's_ that night, Veronica immediately notes the gloom on her husband's face from the moment that he walks in the door, carrying their takeaway dinner.

"What's raining on your parade, Archiekins?"

"I kicked a puppy tonight..."

The look of total horror on Veronica's face quickly calls for the red-head to speak up and explain, before his wife throws him out of the house.

"It was Jug... He was getting dinner at _Pop's_ too so we got talking while we waited. He was telling me about how good things are going with Betty and Bailey and he started talking about how different things could have been, how different they could hopefully become... I realised he had no clue about Casey. I had to tell him. I couldn't let him hope to be a family when she's moved on. "

As she takes a few steps closer to her husband from across the room, there is a firm pout plastered on Veronica's lips as her arms cross in front of her to complement her eye-roll; she's riddled with judgement.

"Serves him right..."

"What did you say?" Archie questions incredulously, despite knowing _exactly_ what three words his wife has just uttered.

However, with her arms still tightly crossed, Veronica just raises an eyebrow and gives Archie a shrug. They _both_ know that the other knows exactly what has been said between them, but neither of them is backing down.

In response to her strong silence, Archie chokes out a scoff, shaking his head as he glances over to Veronica before imitating her pose, crossing his arms in front of himself, too.

"Yes, Jughead screwed up... Big time. But, he was _seventeen_. Don't try and tell me that you never did anything that you regretted as a teenager, because I know for a fact that you did. But, you're just lucky that the ramifications from your mistakes didn't impact three people's lives like _his_ did. So, give him a break, Veronica. He's paying for it. And, he's still my friend..."

"Yeah, and Betty's _mine_. I've seen the way that she's suffered over the last four years because of him. Besides, I thought Betty was your friend, too."

Archie's outburst in defense of his friend has done nothing to alter his wife's attitude or her view towards the very same man. Veronica's arms are still very much crossed and her pursed lips are still very much pouted.

"They're _both_ my friends, which puts me in the perfect position to play Devil's Advocate. Jughead stuffed up monumentally and he brought a whole world of pain down on Betty as a result. But, he didn't do that knowingly... Yes, Jughead left Betty with no phone call, no goodbye and no reason why. _That_ was wrong. But, I know Jughead... I believe he left with the intention of pulling away to set her free. He wasn't to know that he was leaving her in the situation he was when Betty herself has said that she had no idea she was pregnant at the time, either."

Taking a breath of air, Archie seizes the split second of Veronica's silence to keep talking and continue pounding his own point, passionately.

"And, if you're going to be so high and mighty, Veronica, then _we_ have to take some ownership over the blame, too. After all, we are very much a part of the reason that Jughead left Riverdale that night at homecoming, so as a result we are a part of the reason that Betty was left as a single mum and we are a part of the reason why a little girl didn't have a dad for the first few years of her life..."

Veronica exhales a heavy sigh but her arms remain crossed as her gaze falls to the ground.

"See, it's not so black-and-white when the shoe's on the other foot, right?"

With an unimpressed glare at the point he has just proven to her, Veronica turns hot on her heel, walking off in the opposite direction as she storms away from her husband.

"Lounge is all yours tonight."

#

Jughead had a rough night that night after picking up his takeaway from _Pop's_ that had come with a side order of discovering that his ex-girlfriend has moved on. Consequently, he spent the night overthinking and worrying about what impact another man in Betty's life will have on his own relationship with his daughter... Does she call him by a nickname too? Does Bailey get excited as soon as she sees him, too? Maybe his daughter likes her mother's boyfriend even more than she likes _him_...

Jughead's stomach churns at all the different thoughts and possibilities that he has come up with as he lay awake all night, tossing and turning, back and forth.

Of course his anguish has _nothing_ to do with his own history with Betty and _nothing_ to do with any residual feelings for the mother of his child... Well, that's what he keeps telling himself, anyway.

So, trailing out of his old bedroom that morning, Jughead finds himself headed for the instant coffee to get him by before his first of many from _Pop's_ for the day, walking past his father who is demolishing his breakfast of toast from where he's seated at the old and flimsy dining table.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty" FP says, teasing his son as he rubs his face that is surrounded with his dark, messy curls that fall in front of his face and his under-eye bags that are even heavier than usual.

"Get stuffed" Jughead snipes with annoyance, not in any mood to take his father's jokes, getting by on such little sleep from the night before.

FP rolls his eyes at Jughead's rudeness, just returning to his breakfast and putting it down to the fact that he knows his son well enough to know that he has never been a morning person. So, the two Jones boys go about their business until Jughead is halfway through his first black coffee for the day, raising a question to his father from the other side of the room apprehensively.

"Hey dad? Has Betty ever mentioned anything to you about a boyfriend?"

FP's deep and resounding sigh answers Jughead's question long before his words do.

"Yeah, mate, she has... A couple of months back she mentioned to me that she's been seeing someone. She told me that she thought I should hear about it from her rather than through the grapevine. But, I haven't heard anything about it for a couple of months since so I didn't want to mention anything to you in case they'd fizzled out. As far I know, he works out of town a lot so that could be why you don't see or hear much about him..."

Jughead does his best to keep his expression neutral, uninterested. However, even at his best, with every ounce of his acting abilities, his father knows him enough to be able to read him, resulting in FP raising the question to his son.

"You still have feelings for her, don't you?"

Jughead blanches instantly at his father's blunt question that he has put to him, before FP attempts to soften it with reasonableness.

"I mean, you guys have a kid together. That's a fair bit of history to have with someone. It would be only natural if there was something still there..."

It takes Jughead a few moments and a sigh before he composes an answer to his dad's question.

"I'm just a little worried about what impact Betty's boyfriend wil have on my relationship with Bailey. I don't know just how much of a step-father he is to her, whether he's filled my place. _That's_ the only concern I can have."

FP watches his son intently from the other side of the room. At first, the older man isn't having his son's answer, until he elaborates on his previous words, succinctly, but truthfully.

"As for Betty, I just want her to be happy, dad. That's all..."

#

That same day, Betty Cooper slowly approaches the familiar house on the familiar street, hand-in-hand with her plus one.

As she nears her family home that she had spent most of her life as well as the first year of her daughter's life in, Betty feels terrified... It's not quite -but _almost_ \- as terrifying as the day when she had to tell her parents that their baby was having her own baby.

Betty takes a deep breath and increases her hold on Bailey's hand, looking down to her daughter, gaining a slither of confidence simply at the sight of the little girl from where she stands by her side. _She would do it all over again in a heartbeat._

However, the feeling in the pit of Betty's stomach certainly rivals that of the same feeling that she felt the last time she felt so nervous to be approaching her parent's home, trying to prepare herself for the Spanish Inquisition that lay ahead...

#

 **A little over four years ago...**

 _It is only after her pregnancy is one hundred percent confirmed with a home pregnancy test, a blood test, an ultrasound and a little black-and-white image that evidences hers and Jughead's little creation when Betty finally faces her fears and tries to tell her parents of her pregnancy._

 _Betty has just walked home from her doctors appointment that Saturday morning, lying that she had cheerleading practice, knowing that the truth would be the only thing **worse** than reminding her mother of her role as a River Vixen. _

_Then, come to a standstill outside the front of her home that seems so much bigger and scarier than it ever has before, Betty can feel the heavy weight pit in her stomach and she can't stop herself from wondering whether the sensation comes as a result of the baby occupying her womb or her fear at having to share the news of that baby's existence._

 _Finally, with her umpteenth deep breath, Betty works up the courage to take her first steps up to her own front door; slowly but surely taking the leap of faith._

" _Mum, dad, have you got a minute?" Betty bellows out as soon as she enters her home, before she loses her nerve._

 _Almost instantly Hal appears from the second-storey of the Cooper family home, while her mother surfaces from somewhere further in the home, likely the kitchen._

 _"Mum... Dad... I've got something I need to tell you and you're not going to like it" Betty opens with as she leads her parents into the dining room, taking her usual seat at the table as her parents find their own seats at either end, looking over to their youngest daughter, across to each other and then back again._

 _Then, with yet another deep breath, Betty lays her hands out on the dining table in an attempt to give off clear, strong body language in front of her parents, despite how petrified she's really feeling as they watch her intently like two, circling, well-dressed hawks._

" _I'm pregnant, with Jughead's baby, and I'm keeping it."_

 _The silence which follows Betty's nine words that turn her parent's world upside down is deafening._

 _From where she's seated between her parents who are at either end of their dining table, Betty looks between them both, shamefully._ _She sees the flood of emotions that flare up and then fade away within seconds, moving onto the next emotion. She sees the shock, the fury, the devastation, and worst of all, she sees the disappointment..._

 _As much as she hates her family's image of 'perfection' that she conforms to, Betty quickly learns that disappointing people and shattering that image entirely isn't that all that much great either._

 _Her dad is the first to speak up. Hal's face has turned beetroot-red and you can just about see the steam pouring at of his ears as he points a sharp finger at his youngest daughter._

" _No... **No way**. Not you, too, Betty. No. We can fix this. This mess doesn't have to ruin the rest of your life." _

_It takes just about every ounce of strength within Betty to stand up for her unborn baby as well as herself. But, as she blinks back the tears in her eyes that have begun to fill with tears, she finds the courage that she needs to scoff at what her father has just said._

 _"Seriously?_ ' _This mess'?! Call it what it is, dad. 'This mess' is a_ _ **baby**_ _. Mine and Jughead's baby... 'This mess' is your_ _grandchild_ _. It's not just a string of words. It's not just something else that you can banish and try to force to disappear, in lieu of adding another skeleton to the Cooper family closet. Did you learn absolutely nothing from Polly?"_

 _Betty's last words to her father hold the greatest power against him as he runs a hand through his hair from the realisation that he has reverted to his first instinct in the shock of his daughter's news. But, he knows that she's right. And, as much as he may not agree, as much as he may wish to take any action possible against his youngest daughter, deterring her from following the same path of single, teenage motherhood as his eldest daughter, he still knows that Betty's right. That, unless that decision is coming from Betty, anything that he might try to do, or say, or try to enforce is only threatening his relationship with his daughter, his marriage and his family..._

 _Meanwhile, glancing over to the other person who is sitting at the table, Betty can see the look on her mother's face at the fact that her overprotective eagle-eyes have failed her. However, it doesn't take her long to recover and return in full-force._

" _Jug-head? Jug-head, as in the boy who loves you **so** much that he left you without a word and without a trace?" _

_Betty can hear the scoff and mockery in her mother's taunts which she has deemed to be the most effective way to attempt to dissuade her daughter from her confidence in her decision._

 _Before she answers, a deep sigh spreads through Betty's body, with her head in her hands as she tries to muster up the strength to make a reply to her mother._

" _Look, I don't know where he has gone or why he left. But, deep down, I feel like he will come back. I trust him. I trust that he has got a reason why..." Betty explains with a devastating faith and confidence in the father of her child that has slowly diminished over the years that followed the day she uttered those words._

 _Then, the teenager takes a deep breath and finds a mere moment of comfort and solace in touching her stomach, reassuring herself of her decision._

" _But, no matter where he is and no matter what happens with Jughead, I'm having our baby. There's nothing you can say and there's nothing you can do or force me to do that will change my decision."_

#

Four years on, Betty learns that it's still no easier being cast into the lions den that is her parents home.

So far, she has managed to make it through the greetings and the small talk as well as both lunch and dessert during the formal Cooper lunch. Fortunately, it has been pleasant enough. Thus far, her parents have predominantly just made conversation with their daughters and three grandchildren. The worst of it has been manageable, just consisting of the occasional pointed jibe or odd snarky remark targeted to either Betty or Polly, managing to fly straight over their children's heads.

In fact, at one point Alice was put back in her box when after making some snide comment about Jughead, she had not been anticipating the fact that his daughter would recognise the name, exclaiming "Juggie!" with excitement which was enough to make Alice quickly back off, realizing that her youngest grandchild is perhaps a little more aware of the conversation than she had first realised.

So, after Bailey had unknowingly alerted her grandmother to the fact she knew she was talking about her dad, it's only after Alice sets her grandchildren up in the lounge room with a movie and enough sweets and treats to induce one hell of a sugar rush, shutting the door behind her, when the mood intensifies between the four adults.

Betty and Polly share a desperate look to one another, the two sister's only _imagining_ what is about to go down...

"So, Jug-head is back..."

Alice states obviously, her face growing tighter and more serious after being in sickly sweet grandma-mode in front of her beloved grandchildren just minutes ago.

Betty raises an eyebrow at her mother and her obvious comment, calling her out on it.

"Yes. He is back… But you knew that already."

Alice doesn't acknowledge her daughter's remark and both of them are interrupted by Hal as he curses under his breath, simply at the mention of the man who had knocked his youngest daughter up, leaving her sixteen and pregnant, all those years ago.

Funnily enough, while her father had been the vocal one during her pregnancy, insisting on her taking another path and choosing another option, Hal had mellowed after Bailey's birth and it wasn't long before he was cast under his third grandchild's spell. Alice was much the same, _except_ for if and when Bailey's father and her father's side of the family is ever, ever mentioned; always on the ready to have her say on Jughead and the Jones'.

Betty is _almost_ grateful for her father's interruption before it's her mum who speaks up again.

"And he has met Bailey? You're actually _allowing_ him to be a part of your daughter's life?!"

Once again, Alice asks Betty questions that she already well knows the answer to, seeking to hear it from her daughter; looking for a reason more than an answer.

"Considering the fact that Bailey is _our_ daughter, yes... Yes I am allowing it. But, if you must know, I have been very clear on the fact that Jughead has one chance in our life and, if he screws things up or if he leaves like last time, then that's it. It's the last chance I'm going to give him."

Alice spends a long moment looking at her youngest daughter incredulously before she erupts into hysterical laughter. Then, once composing herself, Betty's mother exhales a judgmental _tut, tut, tut_ before replying.

"Betty, Betty, Betty... My sweet, sweet Betty... You _know_ that I love the fact that you choose to see the good in people; that you want to give the people who don't deserve it the benefit of the doubt. But, this is only going to end in heartbreak for both you _and_ Bailey."

"I have faith in him, mum. I trust that Jughead's going to try his best to make things right by both of us. He wants to be a part of Bailey's life and he knows what's riding on him not screwing this up" Betty says in little more than a whisper in defense of her ex-boyfriend.

After all, while Betty believes in and stands by her own words, there is still more than a little forgiveness that is needed to glaze over the pain of the last four years that had started with her boyfriend breaking her heart after he left her.

"Yes, because he has done **so** well by you both and Bailey, hasn't he? Four years of being supportive, right by your side, every step of the way... Am I right?" Alice mocks sarcastically.

"That's not fair, mum. You _know_ that Jughead didn't know I was pregnant and that he was abandoning his child..."

"But he still left _you_. He broke your heart and he didn't look back."

Betty winces at her mother's words, the reminder of the pain that Jughead has put her through over the years and the reminder of her own heartbreak that she has tried to suppress for the sake of their daughter.

"Yes. Jughead hurt me badly when he left Riverdale. No one knows that better than me. But, he was hurting, too... There are two sides the story and I can't blame him for everything that I went through now that I know what he was going through, too. I can't hold all of my blame against him…" Betty's explains empathetically as her green eyes rapidly grow red and fill with tears.

As much as she might stand up for the father of her child, knowing the pain he endured and the true reason behind why he left all those years ago, it's still not enough to alleviate all of Betty's own pain that had resulted from four hard years, after all.

From where she's seated across the table from her sister, Polly can see that Betty is struggling. She can see that the walls that she is trying so hard to keep up are slowly caving in and crumbling under the pressure. So seeing her struggle prompts the protective older sister to speak up in Betty's defense.

"Do **not** give Betty a hard time for allowing the father of her child be a part of their daughter's life. Having a dad is a privilege that not everyone has... At least Bailey has the opportunity to know hers, unlike her cousins."

As ferocious as she is, filled with bitterness over her granddaughter's father, Alice realises the sensitivity of her eldest daughter's point with a little huff. So, she quickly changes tack and tries a different line of reasoning.

"And what about Casey? You better not ruin things with him just because Jug-head is back for the blink of an eye. You wouldn't be stupid enough to sacrifice the perfect man for the man who hurt you so badly, would you?"

"Look, Jughead is Bailey's dad...That's not going to change. It doesn't matter if I'm with Casey or not. It's about Jughead and Bailey, not Casey and I. My boyfriend doesn't have _any_ pertinence on my daughter knowing her father or not, okay? Neither of things is dependent on the other. I am with Casey and, unless Jughead hurts me or Bailey or unless he leaves like he did last time, then he is going to be a part of our life, too. That's just the way it's going to be."

After making her point forcefully, Betty gets up from her seat, doing her very best to hold back her emotions from the confrontation, quickly getting up to fetch her daughter and leave as quickly as she can, before leaving Alice Cooper and her disapproval with her final, cutting words.

"But, you know what? Maybe we wouldn't be having this discussion and maybe Jughead never would have left if it wasn't for you and your witch-hunt against his father, so _thank you_ , mum."

* * *

 **Hope you all liked that one! This chapter feels a little different than a lot of the others have, with less of a focus on Betty/Jughead/Bailey interactions, but it's a bit of a one-off, to deal with a little more of the past and some of the other characters.**

 **Now, even though a lot of you guys had picked that Betty was hiding a boyfriend, quite a few questions were raised about how come he hasn't been mentioned before now. Want a fun fact? Casey has actually been mentioned on two separate occasions, once by Veronica and once by Bailey, albeit subtly. Evil, right? Anyway, more about him, the type of person he is, how he fits into the story and his history with Betty will be detailed in the next chapter.**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who left feedback on the last chapter! The response kind of blew me away! It definitely inspired me to get this chapter up as quick as I could, so thank you!**

 **Next chapter: Meet Casey! Betty finally fills Jughead in on her new relationship and he realises the reason why she has been keeping her new beau on the down-low. Then, while Betty and Casey go out on their date, Jughead looks after Bailey on his own for the first time.**


	22. The Monopoly

**CHAPTER TWENTY TWO – The Monopoly**

Within seconds of knocking at the front door, it flings open to reveal the multitasking householder on the other side.

"Hey you... Come in" Betty greets as she opens the door with one hand and attempts to put an earring in with her other.

Jughead follows Betty's instruction, trailing in while she holds the door open to him, still preoccupied with securing the back of her earring that she has just slid into her lobe. After he walks inside and as he hovers by the door, a warm smile spreads across Jughead's face as he takes in the effortless beauty and grace of the woman before him, only accentuated with the extra effort that she has gone to for tonight.

"You look beautiful, Betty."

Jughead's honest comment and warm smile brings a blush to Betty's cheeks as she looks down to the ground before her eyes shyly return to his.

"Thanks... Now, Jug-" Betty begins, returning his smile, before she is cut off and interrupted by their daughter who comes racing out of her bedroom to see the expected visitor upon hearing the second voice in her house.

"Juggie! You're here! Guess what?! I get to play with _you_ all night!"

Jughead smiles at his daughter's enthusiasm as she bounds towards him with her arms open which he reciprocates, giving his little girl a big hug before Betty interrupts the moment.

"Now, Bailey Jones, is your room tidy enough for Cinderella?" Betty asks her daughter seriously.

The three-year-old's big blue eyes only reveal the true answer to her mother's question as she nips at the corner of her lip.

"Then keep going, Bailey-girl. You know I told you that you can't play with him until you tidied up your toys."

The little girl gives her mother an unimpressed look of defeat and Jughead has to stifle his laugh at the little spark of sass he is seeing in his daughter for the very first time.

After the little girl returns to her room, Jughead's suppressed grin surfaces as he turns to the mother of his child.

" _Wow_... The teen years are going to be fun."

Betty gives Jughead an exasperated chuckle, nodding along at his comment, before changing course just a little.

"She's so excited to hang out with you tonight, Juggie. It's the only thing that she's talked about all day" Betty confesses as she shares a little smile with Jughead, her words bringing him delight.

However, their little moment doesn't last long before the expression on Betty's face grows a little more serious, followed suit by their conversation as she takes it to another subject, catching her exes attention before continuing to speak.

"Jughead? There's something you should know... I know that I probably should have told you sooner than this, but I didn't really know how to bring it up before now."

With Jughead's attention completely, one-hundred-percent fixed on her, Betty glances over to him before casting her gaze away as she continues to speak.

"Look... Not that it's really your business, but I feel like you deserve the courtesy of knowing the reason why I asked you to look after Bailey tonight.

As she pauses, Betty glances up to Jughead. Then, it's as blue eyes lock with green when she musters up the courage to spit it out.

"I'm going on a date tonight, with my boyfriend. I just thought that I should give you a heads-up in advance."

Jughead nods slowly at the confirmation of the fact that he has been half-expecting since his run-in with Archie at _Pop's_ had revealed to him the fact that his ex-girlfriend is not still single. However, even though he has been expecting it and even though he had been forewarned earlier, Jughead can't help the ripple of devastation that pulses through his heart, feeling the intensity as his stomach plummets and churns from deep within him.

But, he doesn't let on, suffering in silence.

"Thanks for letting me know, Betty. I heard that you've been seeing someone."

It almost makes for a freaky-Friday moment. After all, Betty had expected to be the one that would be surprise Jughead, only to learn that _she_ is the one left shocked.

"Oh, okay... I'm glad you know, then. I didn't quite know how to bring it up but I just thought that you deserved a bit of warning."

Jughead just nods from where he's standing across from Betty, forcing himself to maintain a fixed, blank and neutral expression.

"Who is it? Do I know him?" Jughead asks, saying the question that he's dying to know the answer to, but simultaneously not wanting to hear.

"Um, possibly... Do you remember the Turners?"

"As in the Turners who used to run the bank in town?"

Betty nods at Jughead's clarification, elaborating on it just a little, without needing to go into her history with her present boyfriend, to her ex-boyfriend.

"Yeah, _those_ Turners... They still run it. Anyway, I've been dating the youngest Turner son, Casey. He still works for the bank but his role requires a lot of travelling and working away to represent the company. He's just gotten back today from doing almost a three week stint between New York and Chicago, hence tonight..."

Jughead's face scrunches up at Betty's words, vaguely remembering the family that he never had very much to do with, even when he was living in Riverdale. He remembers little beyond the fact that they were the family that ran the bank in town and that they had a few -three or so- sons. In fact, he has to really stop and think it over to even begin to _recall_ the youngest Turner that Betty is describing.

But, then when the pieces slowly begin to click into place, Jughead's confusion only grows as the detail he _does_ remember just furthers his confusion...

"Casey? I thought he's a fair bit older than us? Like ten, fifteen years older... Well, I actually thought that _all_ the Turner boys were quite a lot older than us. In fact, I think Casey might have been the person who set up my very first bank account, just before I started high school."

At Jughead's remark and evident confusion, Betty bites at her lip as her arms cross in front of her, showcasing her sudden discomfort. Then, as she speaks up in response, Betty's apprehension clearly grow as her focus turns down to the ground.

"Uh, he is a little older than me... There's about thirteen years between us."

Jughead's jaw drops at Betty's admission.

"Hell, Betts... Sure, age is just a number, but that's _older_ alright... As in, we were still in elementary school when he was our age."

Betty grows clearly uncomfortable as Jughead presents the fact in a different manner, although she's not hearing it for the first time.

Beyond the most obvious reason behind Betty's hesitation over telling Jughead about her new boyfriend, another factor is because her relationship as a whole has been kept reasonably private within the small town. After all, when news broke that the young, single mother was seeing the man in his thirties, there had been no end to the gossip that their relationship stirred up in town.

The biggest talking point was their age difference, _not_ the end of the world. But, things started to become less than savoury when a few other people jumped on board with their own rumours that spiraled out of control, resulting in Betty being given a less than flattering title as a result of the speculation that there was a _reason_ that the young mother just so happened to begin to dating the well-off son of the managers of Riverdale's only financial institution.

Consequently, after their relationship began to fuel the rumour-mill, both Betty and Casey had made the decision to keep their relationship more low-key and private. While they haven't hide the fact that they are still together, they have just tried to be more discreet and inconspicuous with their relationship, hoping it holds the key to the gossip dying down.

So, despite the fact that Betty is not the most comfortable in talking about her relationship freely -and especially not with her ex-boyfriend- she earnestly looks up to the man who knows her so well, answering his concerns.

" _I know_... I know there's a big age gap, but I really do like him, Juggie."

Despite how much he has tried to suppress the stabs of pain and jealousy that course through him at hearing of his ex-girlfriend's new man, Jughead can't control the sharp intake of breath at her last comment that triggers his own tough question.

"So it's serious, hey?"

Betty nods shyly, biting at her lip as her gaze falls to her feet. She's quite clearly as uncomfortable as he is, struggling to talk about her new boyfriend with her old one.

"I wouldn't be with him if it _wasn't_ serious. There's no way I would put Bailey through being in a casual relationship or something that I thought wouldn't work out. I would never, ever expose her to that. So, although it's still fairly new and we've only been together for six months, it's serious."

Jughead is working overtime to keep his expression as blank and neutral as he can, in contrast to his pounding heart that is riddled with the ache of jealousy. He is quick to try and keep the conversation going, avoiding stopping himself for a moment too long at fear of how his reaction may betray him.

"Speaking of Bailey, what about _her_?"

"They've met and Bailey knows that he's my boyfriend. It's something I've tried to drip-feed it to her in small doses and just with little things over time. The two of them get along well -he's good with her- and honestly, before you returned, I was glad for Bailey to have someone like that in her life... A bit of a father-figure of sorts, I guess. But, Casey hasn't tried to replace _you_ , Jughead. Now, I won't lie to you and I won't say they're not close, but he's a _Casey_ in her life; he's not her dad."

Jughead gives Betty a small somewhat smile, not quite sure if her words help or hinder him. So, he just raises the next question on his mind, trying not to let it get to him.

"And what does your boyfriend think about you having a daughter?"

Betty's question seems to send a jolt of confidence through her, reducing her nervousness as she feels more at ease to answer his next question.

"He doesn't mind me already having Bailey. He's serious and he knows I come as a packaged deal. Besides, Casey says he's spent so long working on his education and career that having a family was put on the back-burner for so long for him, but lately both family and commitment are things that have become more of a focus for him."

Jughead's stomach churns with the sickening sensation. He hates Betty's use of the words 'serious' and 'commitment' in conjunction to his own daughter and to her, he girl that used to be his; referencing the family that could have been _his_.

Consequently, in the moment of vulnerability, Jughead reverts to his natural defense mechanism, looking to find the humour in the situation, although in a less dark and sardonic fashion to his usual sense of humour.

"So what time is he coming? For your sake I hope he won't be late" Then, a little smirk curls on the corner of Jughead's lips as he continues to speak. "... But hey, I wouldn't _bank_ on that."

Catching the pun in Jughead's comment regarding her boyfriend's occupation, Betty just rolls her eyes at the man standing in front of her, with her hands on her hips.

"Puns, hey? I didn't think they're so much your style."

"Typically they're not... Usually not dark enough. But hey, anything to make someone smile."

Betty can't suppress the automatic smile that Jughead's comment brings to her lips before he continues on with his punny tangent.

"So, like I said -and just out of _interest-_ what time do you think you'll be leaving?"

With the smile still plastered on her face, Betty stifling a giggle as she tries her hardest to look annoyed and just give Jughead a roll of her eyes, failing abysmally.

"Not that I think you really care, but he should be here any minute to pick me up."

As if on cue, there's a knock at the door moments after Betty finishes speaking. Then, while Betty rushes across the room to answer it, Jughead injects one more pun into the moment.

"Wow, you could bet _money_ on his punctuality..."

As Betty gives him another amused eye-roll before racing over to the front door, Jughead is quickly silenced when door opens up, revealing a beaming blonde man in his early thirties, holding a bouquet of flowers as Betty throws her arms around him with delight.

Observing Casey from the other side of the room, Jughead can't suppress his one resounding feeling that he fits... He fits the image of pastel-perfection that Betty has originated from... He fits the figure of the polished, stable man to be by Betty's side, just as her parents would have intended for her... He can visualise him talking to Betty's dad about business and he can imagine him bringing her mother flowers before helping her to toss the salad.

... Unlike Jughead, he just _fits_.

In fact, with his tailored suit, his polished shoes, his styled blonde hair and tall, athletic build, Casey is so far removed from Jughead himself that he finds it almost impossible to believe that they had both attracted the very same girl.

However, that fact becomes easier to believe as he watches on in slow-motion as the girl who he had loved and left, the mother of his child, begins to stretch upwards on tippy-toes, with her initiative being met halfway as her new boyfriend leans down and they share a kiss. It's like watching an accident; he can't bear to keep watching, but he can't tear his eyes away.

The kiss is not obnoxiously long, nor is it intentionally flaunted in Jughead's face, but it _is_ a moment between a couple reuniting after three weeks in separate states. Standing awkwardly on the other side of the room, far enough away from them, Jughead tries to make his presence as inconspicuous as possible, feeling like he's intruding on a private moment.

Then, once Betty and Casey pull away they remain close, clinging onto each other with their arms wrapped around one another as they relish in the closeness, savouring the touch after so long apart, the flowers that Casey had brought are long forgotten about.

More than Betty and Casey's kiss, their closeness that follows it is the _real_ killer.

Jughead can feel his stomach drop and the twist of the knife in his heart. They are both sensations that he hasn't felt since he was stuck playing third wheel in the Betty-loves-Archie-and-he's-oblivious game. Except, it's worse... _So much worse_. After all, he had his chance. He knows what it's like; it's not just an alternate universe where he can only hope that Betty might take notice of him in that way one day... He knows _exactly_ what it's like. He remembers what it's like, so damn vividly, and yet he's seeing someone else take that place.

Across the room, Jughead is still in earshot of the couple as Betty asks Casey where he's taking them, placing a relaxed hand resting on his chest comfortably. His brown eyes are sparkling happily as he looks down to her, unable to wipe the smile from his face. Casey reminds Jughead of the kind of person who doesn't stop smiling; it hurts his own cheeks.

"I have a booking for dinner to start us off and I thought we could catch an early screening at _The Bijou._ Then we can just see where the night takes us."

Although Riverdale hardly has a plethora of options for a night-out, upon hearing her boyfriend's plan to go to _The Bijou_ , she can't help but bite the corner of her lip out of sensitivity to the father of her child, suddenly acutely aware of his presence. She quickly steals a glance across the room at Jughead, who has trained his expression to remain completely neutral, while Betty seems to check whether or not he appears to have heard the plans. He has. And, just like Betty, the mention of dates at _The Bijou_ reminds Jughead of the night of his seventeenth birthday, the way the night had began when she took him to a movie before his surprise party on the day that their daughter was conceived all those years ago.

Thankfully Jughead is quickly distracted from his discomfort in the moment, being interrupted by his daughter as she races out of her room once again, declaring that she can play with him now because she's cleaned her room.

However, noting the other man who has entered the room since she last left it, Bailey's face lights up. She doesn't hesitate as she races towards Casey who takes a step away from her mother upon hearing the little girl's exclamation, before she races towards him.

"Casey!"

"Hey sweetie! I missed you! Look at how big you've gotten!" The blonde man coos, not hesitating for a moment before opening his arms out to the little girl in a hug as she giggles gleefully in his playful embrace.

As if it isn't hard enough for Jughead to swallow seeing the girl that used to be his with the man across the room from him, now he's seeing his daughter doting on the man, too.

"Where'd you go dis time? Did you go on a big, big plane again?" Bailey asks enthusiastically, clearly comfortable in the arms of the man who looks just as happy to see her as she is to see him.

This unsettles Jughead, making him question his own relationship with Bailey, itching at his underlying insecurities.

After all, maybe everything that he has interpreted as he and his daughter getting closer was just Bailey being Bailey... Maybe she's just like that with anyone and everyone she spends time with... Maybe he's nothing special...

"I did! I actually had to go on lots of planes this time. First I went to a big city called 'New York'. You'd love it there, Bailey. There's a big, big park to play in and there's so many enormous, tall buildings. Then, I went to another place called 'Chicago' before I came back here to be with you and your mummy."

Listening to the way that Casey is talking to Bailey, Jughead can easily imagine a similar scene playing out each time that he returns from a work trip, relaying the details and stories to _his_ little girl. Meanwhile, Bailey just listens in with wonder, her face lighting up as Casey's story steals all of her attention.

Then, holding Bailey with one arm, Casey's other hand frees itself to dig into his pocket and retrieve two, small objects that fit within the palm of his hand before handing them both over to the little girl in his arms.

"And _these_ , are for you, Bailey-girl" Casey smiles as the three-year-old's face lights up at the objects in her hand.

"Fridge stickers! Look mummy! Casey got me two more fridge stickers!"

After Casey tells her that one magnet is of the Cloud Gate in Chicago before telling her about The Statue of Liberty, Bailey quickly begins to squirm within his arms, wanting to be put down. He obliges, gently setting the little girl down on the floor as she races over to the side of the fridge that Jughead has noticed a few times before, where there's already a cluster of maybe ten or so magnets at Bailey's height.

Bailey proudly adds the two additional magnets to the fridge, setting them in place in the little collection before looking over the others that appear to include other landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, The White House and even Big Ben.

By the time that Casey has put Bailey down to add her new magnets to the fridge, Betty has finished putting her flowers and fresh water in a vase. So, Betty walks back over to her boyfriend, putting a hand on Casey's arm while his hands rests on the small of her back as she gestures over to Jughead in the uncomfortable silence that has shrouded the group.

"Now, Case, I'm not sure if you two remember each other, but this is Bailey's dad, Jughead."

Instantly, Casey steps away from Betty, taking a step towards the beanie-clad man with a smile as he holds a hand out with the offer to shake it.

"Good to see you again, mate."

Struggling with his discomfort in the presence of the man who seems to have effortlessly monopolized everything that is or has been his, Jughead can feel himself shrinking back, only managing to offer up an awkward " _yeah_ " in response. He's more focused on trying not to frown too hard at the man who looks like one of those sorts of people who can't wipe the smile off of his face, looking like the-cat-that-got-the-cream, _all day long_...

Then, after the uncomfortable reintroduction, Betty goes over anything and everything that Jughead might need to know for the remainder of the evening before the young mother takes a few, nervous, deep breaths as she prepares to leave her daughter with her father for the very first time.

Jughead can sense Betty's growing nerves as she wraps everything up, double-checking that she's told him about certain things and telling him to call her for the umpteenth time. So, with a little help from their daughter, Jughead attempts to alleviate just a little bit of Betty's anxiety.

"Bailey? How about you say goodbye to mummy? I think she needs a big hug."

Obeying Jughead's suggestion, the little girl's attention is instantly caught as she releases a little gasp, racing over to her mother's loving arms as Betty crouches down in front of her to wrap their daughter in a big, loving hug.

"Bye mummy... I love you" Bailey says as she presses an affectionate kiss to Betty's cheek, squeezing her neck a little tighter.

"Bye baby. I love you more. Be a good girl for dad, okay?"

Watching the scene before him between the two girls that he has loved in such different ways melts Jughead's heart completely.

Then, when the mother and daughter finally pull away from each other with a final blown kiss, Betty looks over to Jughead intently as her date wraps an arm around her waist, preparing to leave together.

"Have fun you two... Look after her, Jug."

"Don't worry, Betts. I'll call if there are any issues... You don't have to _cheque_ up on us."

Despite his own discomfort, the final pun that Jughead offers up leaves Betty biting the corner of her lip, trying to hide her smirk as she leaves her home with her date.

After all, that night there was only one man whose humour couldn't wipe the smile off of Betty Cooper's face.

... And, that man was _not_ her boyfriend.

#

Later on that evening, upon feeling the familiar unrelenting rumble in his stomach, Jughead looks to the clock on the wall, trying to guess what time kids in general, and Bailey in particular, usually have dinner.

So from where he and his junior are drawing together from where they sit up on the island in Betty's apartment, Jughead looks to his daughter who is seated on the stool beside his.

"So, Bay... Are you getting hungry yet? What do you think we should we have for dinner tonight?"

Rather than being served up a bowl of spaghetti for dinner or one of her meticulously balanced lunches, Bailey relishes in the opportunity to have a say over their meal, releasing a little squeal of excitement before she answers her dad.

"Um... Pizza! And lollies! And chippies! And banana! And chicken nuggets!"

Jughead chuckles at the little girl, unable to hide the proud smile that spreads across his face as he watches his daughter. Her words and her excitement for food in that moment is entirely _him_ , but the smile on her face and the way her whole face lights up with her happiness reminds him completely of Betty.

"That's my girl..."

Bailey erupts into a little giggle at her father's remark as he ruffles her blonde curls affectionately. It takes every ounce of self-control for Jughead not to cave in and just let her get everything under the sun that she asks for, food and otherwise.

"How about you pick one thing? Another time, you can pick something else. Okay?"

Bailey nods in agreement with her dad's fair condition, appearing to be deep in thought before she gives Jughead a charming grin upon settling on a decision.

"Pizza please, Juggie. Thank you."

As she gives him her answer so politely, with perfect manners and followed by a sweet little smile at the end of her request, Bailey leaves Jughead wondering if perhaps he should ask Betty for a paternity test.

... There's no way a kid that polite is his.

However, Bailey's answer has barely left her lips before two big, bright blue eyes look up at Jughead, a little shyly this time.

"Juggie? Can we get garlic bread too, _please_?"

Jughead just grins. False alarm, never mind. _Definitely_ his kid after all...

#

After their pizza ( _and_ garlic bread), Jughead has attempted to go through Bailey's night-time routine that Betty detailed for him about eight times before she left.

However, even after reading five stories, Bailey insists that she isn't ready to sleep yet. So, wracking his mind for ideas, he turns the light off in the lounge room and sets her on the lounge with a movie of her choice, _Dennis the Menace_ tonight.

"He's a naughty boy" Bailey explains as her dad gets the movie set up.

"Are you a naughty girl?" Jughead fires back, conversationally, not quite expecting the answer he gets in return.

Initially, the three-year-old squeals a " _No_!" of total-refusal, accompanied by a look of horror. Then, slowly, Bailey's conviction diminishes as her cheeks begin to blush while she fails at hiding a mischievous little smile.

"Sometimes I naughty girl... But my mummy doesn't know."

Although he thinks that this should probably be turned around to be a disciplinary moment, Jughead just chuckles at his daughter's words and more so, the expression on her face. It's partly sheepish, concerned what he might say to that, but there's also a little glint and streak of mischeviousness in her tiny, little smirk.

Honestly, Jughead doesn't know what to say or do in response to that; tell her off for her unspecified naughtiness or praise her for her honesty, so he just returns his focus to the movie, trying not to make his proud smirk too obvious.

Copying him, Bailey's attention returns to the movie too, until after a few minutes, she looks over to him, watching him intently as she realises a small detail that makes her face light up as she releases a little gasp.

"Juggie! You got a crown! You're a prince!"

Then, in her childlike manner after Bailey sees Jughead's beanie in a new light, upon seeing something she likes and something she wants to touch, she automatically reaches out and stretches up.

At first, Bailey just touches and runs the peaks of the woollen hat through her fingers gently. Meanwhile, Jughead watches the intent curiosity on his daughter's face that is just in front of his as she plays with the material and traces the shape of the crown's points.

Then, after a few moments of watching her captivated interest in his trademark beanie, Jughead makes an offer to his girl; an offer that he has _never_ made to anyone else, _ever_ before.

"Do you want to wear it, Bay?"

Golden blonde curls fly everywhere as Bailey nods enthusiastically at her dad's question, her bright, blue eyes shining with excitement.

"Yes please!"

Seeing the joy on his little girl's face as he takes the woollen headpiece off his own head and places it on her much smaller one brings Jughead more than enough satisfaction at the offer he's made for the very first time.

Then, with the crown that's a little too big for her sitting squarely on her head, Bailey releases a contagious giggle as she bobbles her head from side-to-side. She revels in feeling important enough to wear the accessory that she has seen on her father every time she has seen him, only noting that it's a crown tonight.

" _Beautiful_ " Jughead says which only furthers the enormous, proud grin on his daughter's face as she bears her father's signature crown, reminding Jughead so much of her mother.

After a few minutes of enjoying the novelty of wearing her father's beanie, Bailey begins to settle down and slump into the couch as her focus returns to the movie.

Glancing down to the little girl beside him, Jughead notes that her blinks are growing longer and longer each time that her eyes closed. So, he stays as still and quiet as he can, doing his best to avoid disrupting his daughter if there's a chance that she's slowly beginning to grow drowsy, preparing for sleep.

However, it turns out that Jughead's plans are foiled and Bailey isn't quite as close to sleeping as Jughead had first thought when she speaks up in a quiet whisper.

"Juggie?"

He looks over to her, just the quiet whisper of her voice enough to fill him with concern.

"Yeah? Are you okay Bailey?"

Jughead's three-year-old gives him a sure nod, before using her fists to rub her eyes that are the identical hue of blue to his own, exposing her tiredness that she's fighting off.

"Juggie? Can I cuddle you?"

Bailey's eyes that are as big and bright as her mother's and as blue as his own look up to Jughead and it melts his heart completely. The fact that she is asking him to hold her and cuddle her is an added bonus.

With those beautiful eyes and her softly spoken request, she could have asked him to do _anything_ and in that moment he would have done it for her.

"Oh, of course, sweetie..." Jughead says with a kind smile that only bolsters his daughter's confidence and comfort in his presence.

As Jughead opens his arms to her, Bailey doesn't hesitate in crawling across the lounge, wrapping her arms around him as she makes herself comfortable lying on her dad, nestling into him. It doesn't take long for her to find her spot, resting her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, as she grows sleepier and sleepier by the minute.

Looking down to his daughter in his arms, Jughead can't hide the smile that reflects his love for his little girl and the warmth he feels in his heart from her embrace into him as she wears his safety blanket, his crown, atop her hair that is as golden as Betty's, curls scattered across his chest as she rests against him.

"Sweet dreams, princess."

* * *

 **Damn that's a long one. I hope you all liked the chapter! Anyway, I'm _very_ interested in your first impressions of Casey...** **What do you think of him so far? I felt like it made more sense to introduce a new, older character as Betty's boyfriend because I just couldn't see many of the other boys on the show that are her age being the stable, settled type that I could see Betty going for in her situation. Also, poor, poor Jughead... While I focused on him, I feel like it would have been an uncomfortable situation for Betty too, balancing not wanting to flaunt in front of an ex with not wanting to be too distant after not seeing her boyfriend in three weeks. However, it's only going to get even harder for poor Jughead over the next few chapters... Also, I hope you liked the little daddy-daughter moments in the chapter, too!**

 **Enormous, mega, king-sized _thank yous_ to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Love to you all for your support and kind feedback. ****I'd love to see what you thought of this one, too!**

 **Next chapter: Learn more about Casey and his history with Betty. Also, they discuss what Jughead's return means for them with a view to the future.**


	23. The Past, The Present, The Future

**CHAPTER TWENTY THREE – The Past, The Present, The Future**

Despite being two children of Riverdale seeing as both Betty and Casey were born and raised in the small town, the two never really crossed paths. Both of them lived very separate, very different lives within the same world _,_ until just over two years ago...

The story of Betty Cooper and Casey Turner had begun on a strictly professional level, with his job being a key part of bringing their two lives into orbit.

Their story began when a struggling, nineteen-year-old single mother had been trying her luck over and over with banks in Riverdale and Greendale, seeking enough of a loan to be able to leave her family home and establish her own life with her eighteen-month-old daughter, _away_ from her mollycoddling parents as she tried to break out on her own with Bailey.

However, Betty's plans had been foiled when application after application had been denied, despite her best efforts. This was until she tried at Riverdale's bank in town once again...

Casey Turner had been the loan officer and financial advisor at his family's bank at that time.

All those years ago, Casey had been the one who helped Betty to get a loan approved from his family's bank. _He_ was the person who gave a chance to a struggling teen mother who was doing her very best, when no one else would give it to her.

After all, despite all of her liabilities and all of the reasons that she would almost certainly fail from the standpoint of the other financial institutions, Casey was the one who looked _beyond_ all the facts and all the figures that would indicate that she was destined to fail, looking at the character of the younger girl, looking at the reputation that she had built within the town, despite her less-than-ideal circumstances. Looking beyond the written page, Casey chose to look at all the reasons why the hard-working, strong Betty Cooper would be a safe bet with the banks money, in spite of her age and her situation. And, instead of every other assessor in every other institute who had assessed her situation, seeing all the reasons why Betty would _not_ be able to do it, Casey had been the only one to see all the reasons why she _would_.

Casey had been the reason that Betty was given a chance, when no one else would give it to her.

After Betty's loan -the loan that enabled her to be able to afford to rent the apartment that she and Bailey are still in- was approved, life went on, time moved forward and Betty and Casey saw very little of each other, having little more to do with each other beyond a 'hello' on the street or in a shop.

Then, it had been around a year later when two souls found themselves on the same row, seeing the same movie, on the same night.

When her best friend's babysat her daughter for the night, Betty used the rare occasion and valuable time away from her daughter to just see a movie on her own and recharge. Meanwhile, that very same night, Casey had been stood up for a first date that he stayed sitting there, waiting and waiting and waiting for his date to show up -to which she never did- before the movie ended.

After the movie had ended, they smiled at the familiarity of the person they each saw sitting on the same row as each other. Then, they got talking and spent the night talking to each other, which lead to more talking, which lead to another meeting, which lead to another movie...

Once their lives came into orbit again after the chance meeting, Betty and Casey had exchanged numbers and within a matter of days, the two found themselves talking daily and catching up a couple of times a week. Then, Casey invited her out on a proper date, not even a month after the movie they both found themselves in.

Within a month, Betty and Casey were together, exclusive, and falling hard -even despite the hindrance of long distance frequently coming between their new relationship- and they have been that way ever since...

#

 **A little over six months ago...**

 _Glancing over at the familiar face at the end of the same aisle of the cinema, Betty notes the presence of the blonde man who she recognises from the days when she would sit in the bank, clutching piles of paper, filled with equal parts of nerves and hope... She recognises him from the days that she doesn't miss in the slightest._

 _However, here in the far more relaxed environment, Betty offers a shy smile of recognition towards the man at the other end of her row as the two make eye contact and share a look of familiarity._

" _Don't you love small towns? You never know who you're going run into..." Casey muses, speaking across the aisle to Betty._

 _A friendly smile accompanies Casey's words as he gets up from what had been his seat during the movie as the end credits continue to roll on behind him._

" _I know... Sometimes it feels like you can't escape" Betty replies complacently, not putting the most thought into her words that are intended in a more general manner. That is until she realises her mistake, releasing a little gasp and holding an apologetic hand out as a peace offering while she scrambles to explain._

" _Not that I meant that I'm_ _wanting_ _to escape right this minute. It's not a bad thing that I've run into you! I promise!" Betty explains quickly until she realises she's now overcompensating and growing flustered. "Actually... If I keep on talking like this, maybe I_ _do_ _want to escape..."_

 _Making a joke out of her nerves and embarrassment, Betty shakes her head at herself, looking down to hide her cheeks that have been flushed with colour as Casey just chuckles at the younger girl's evident nervousness._

" _Don't worry; I know what you mean..." Casey simply reassures, still wearing his amused smile before he moves the conversation on for Betty's sake. "So, what brings you here all on your own this evening?"_

" _Well my friends are babysitting so I'm just enjoying a rare night out on my own. But, I'm learning that apparently I can't be trusted to make conversation with anyone above the age of five..."_

 _Casey's eyes apologetically widen, as if reading between the lines of Betty's words._

" _Oh... I'm sorry. If you were just after some alone time, I can leave you to it if you'd like."_

 _After Casey misconstrues Betty's words to take it as a hint, the young girl spends a moment pausing and weighing her options up. Now that she's been given the opportunity and now that she's got an out, Betty ensures she knows what she wants to do. Then, she looks up to the tall, blonde man standing in front of her, from where they've stayed in the cinema, still standing beside the aisle that they had both been seated in._

" _No... Stay. It's not that often that I get a night off from being a mummy, so I'd like to most of that with some adult conversation."_

 _After Betty gives Casey her answer he waits and gives it a moment of looking at her, checking that she doesn't change her mind as soon as the words are out, before a smile eventually spreads across his face._

 _"Alright then" Casey confirms, before moving the conversation along with the information that she has just reminded him of. "And, that's right... You have a little girl, don't you?"_

 _Incorporating Bailey into the conversation marks a turning point in their chat as Betty's nerves and embarrassment begin to fade away, while a smile comes to her face just from the mention of her daughter. Almost instantly, the young mother feels a growing ease from within herself as she begins to talk about the light of her life. _

" _Yeah, I do... Bailey. She's just turned three" Betty smiles proudly, restraining herself from showing Casey photos and bombarding him with stories about the little girl that constitutes Betty's entire world. Instead, she turns the conversation back to him. "So what about you? What are you doing here on your own?"_

 _Casey cringes as he scratches at the nape of his neck uncomfortably. Betty's eyes watch him, eager with concern before he answers her._

" _Well, I wasn't supposed to be on my own. I was actually supposed to be on a date... Even though she didn't turn up beforehand I decided to have a little faith and stay for the movie. She sent a message halfway through saying that she'd had second thoughts..."_

 _While Casey looks clearly uncomfortable confessing the truth, Betty's face is filled with an apologetic look of sympathy, knowing all too well what it's like to be left waiting, but on a far grander scale._

" _Oh, Casey... I'm sorry. But, if it's any consolation, it says more about her than it does about you."_

 _Despite her attempt at providing comforting words, Betty knows better. After all, she knows that rejection and abandonment_ _ **hurt**_ _... Be it from a first date or from the father of your child._

 _Meanwhile, Casey simply exhales a sigh and shrugs his shoulders as if trying to brush the hurt off. A silence between the two of them ensues before he glances over to her and replaces his sigh with a deep breath and a small smile._

" _Betty? Would you like to grab a coffee?"_

 _Betty feels an exciting little wave of butterflies from within her stomach at Casey's unexpected words, at his proposition. She's feeling that addictive sensation within her for the first time, with the first person since Jughead Jones, when their story truly began after he knocked at her window one afternoon, catching her by surprise..._

 _It's a thrill._

 _It's a thrill even **despite** Betty being a little rusty in her interaction with the man beside her, accounting for the fact that for a couple of years now, she hasn't really extended her association with the opposite sex beyond her father, Jughead's father, Archie and Pop Tate. And, her interactions with each of those men is vastly different to the course that the conversation is just beginning to take. No_ _t only is that partly due to the fact that having a daughter at her age quite the turn-off for most suitors, but Betty herself wasn't sure that she'd be able to move past her high school sweetheart and childhood friend. Then, that feeling of lost-love is closely followed by the fear of believing that no one else will ever love her again... Then again, did Jughead_ _ever_ _even love her? Maybe she is just unlovable. Maybe **that** is why he left her all those years ago..._

 _However, pushing the whispering fears to the back of her mind, Betty inhales a deep, calming breath. Then, she takes the plunge with a leap of faith, smiling back at him._

" _I'd love to."_

 _#_

 _The conversation continues on with relative ease as Betty and Casey slowly trail to the closest cafe, opting for that over Pop's on the other side of town. Betty offers to pay, being the very least that she can do for Casey as an expression of her gratitude for him helping her out with being approved for the bank loan that had afforded her home that she and Bailey now share._

 _In the hours that followed, Betty and Casey spent all that time talking about anything and everything after ordering their coffees, followed by refills._

 _They talk about the big things and the little things. They share their lives, their past, their hopes and their fears with each other in varying detail. Then, while the conversation flows easily and as they learn more and more about each other, their wordless glances and their little looks continue to convey so much more than their words do as they grow more and more frequent and longer lasting, with their signals and body language doing the talking for them, too._

 _They finish talking about their siblings, with Casey filling Betty on his different bonds with his two brothers as Betty, in turn, explains her close relationship with Polly and the complicated history behind her brother. Then, in the break between one topic and the next, Betty has turned the conversation to his relationships, struggling to comprehend the fact that Casey is shockingly still single at his age from where she sits beside him on the lounge in the coffee shop._

" _Honestly, I have put a lot of time into my career over the years. Too much sometimes... Then, since I started in my new role about a year ago, that has made dating difficult seeing as there's a lot of travel involved. But, over the years, I have had two serious relationships that ended for different reasons. One was a high school sweetheart before we broke up amicably a few months after starting at different colleges. About eight years ago I was engaged. My fiancée broke it off a couple of months before the wedding."_

 _While Betty reacts on autopilot, expressing her sympathy for the man who experienced a broken engagement, her mind is captured with other thoughts..._

 _Betty **knew** that Casey is older than her... Significantly older than her. After all, they both grew up in the same town and she's always been remotely aware of the guy that has always been quite a few years older than her. However, it's only after hearing the number when that fact really sinks in. After all, eight years ago, Betty was just thirteen -preparing to start high school- while the man beside her was in his mid-twenties, engaged. _

_However in their conversation and as they talk freely, the age difference between them isn't at all evident or uncomfortable. It's only when it's expressed in numbers when it is as though there's a perception that there should be something wrong with so many years between them...But there's not. The age difference only sounds so much greater than it feels._

 _Besides, Betty is far older than her twenty-one years and that was even_ _before_ _she was forced to grow up upon facing a positive pregnancy test and the enormity of someone else's life being held in her own hands at the tender age of sixteen._

" _What about you? You're only young, but have you had any relationships in that time?"_

 _Casey turning her own question back on herself is nowhere near as welcomed as finding out the answer from him had been._

" _Just my daughter's dad... I fell in love, I fell pregnant to my boyfriend at the time, then I had my heart pretty badly broken and that was that..." Betty explains with a sigh. Even after three years, it doesn't feel much easier to talk about and it doesn't hurt all that much less than it did at the time._

 _Noting her pain, Casey shoots Betty a sympathetic glance before unintentionally jumping to the wrong conclusion._

" _Oh... Did he just up and leave you after he found out you were pregnant? I'm sorry, Betty..."_

 _Betty exhales another pained sigh, looking down before looking up and over to the blonde man beside her who has genuine concern etched into his face._

" _No. I never even had the chance to tell him before he cut himself off from me and everyone else when he left town... He doesn't even know our daughter exists, actually."_

 _From this point on and after this conversation in what ended up being Casey and Betty's unofficial first date, there were a handful of other occasions when 'Bailey's dad' was spoken about, but it was nothing like the conversations that would be born from the reappearance of one raven-haired man..._

#

Walking hand-in-hand along the main street in the small town, Betty and Casey are headed for their dinner reservation at one of the few eateries in Riverdale other than _Pop's_.

As the recently reunited couple stroll along together, Betty is just wrapping up one of the stories that she's recounting to the man by her side, talking about her favourite topic of discussion; her daughter. Casey is smiling as he listens intently, picturing the scene playing out with little girl that he has developed quite a fondness for, imagining her negotiating with her mother like a seasoned expert as Betty explains it.

"Man I missed that kid..." Casey chuckles warmly, glancing down to his girlfriend before he directs their conversation down a different path on a similar track. "Now, speaking of Bailey... Bailey's dad..."

"Jughead? What about him?"

Betty looks up to her boyfriend expectantly, waiting for his answer to her question as they continue walking hand-in-hand along the sidewalk. The topic of Jughead has only ever been mentioned a handful of times before now, starting with their first coffee after their paths crossed at the movies that night.

Even though Betty kept Casey up-to-date when Jughead re-entered Betty and Bailey's lives while he was working away, it makes for quite a different conversation than when he had been out of the picture and even just out of sight.

"What has it been like since he came back? I mean, the last time that you saw him, you two were together, weren't you?"

Betty takes a few moments to think over her boyfriend's question regarding her ex. Then, she exhales a sigh, struggling to find the best way to put her feelings into words. After all, she doesn't quite know how to express the flutter in her stomach and the warmth in her heart that she's experienced upon seeing Jughead with their daughter. It's not surprising though. After all, that was all that Betty wished for, it was all she ever wanted for so, so long...

"Jughead returning has stirred up a whole lot of emotion; both good and painful. I mean, the two of us used to be so close, long before we even got together... And, he's Bailey's dad. So, honestly, I'm _glad_ that he's back... I'm glad he's safe and well. I'm glad that Bailey is able to know him. And, I'm really glad that they can be a part of one another's lives."

Casey appreciates his girlfriend's honesty in not just giving him a half-hearted, ' _it's no big deal, why would it be_?' answer, not taking the easy way out for his sake. He appreciates that Betty wants to be as honest as she can, trying to help him to see and understand the situation from her perspective as best as he can.

Then, after nodding in response to her answer to him, Casey gently asks her another question in his attempt to understand the depth of what she experienced all those years ago, at such a tender age.

"Did you love him, Betty? Back then? Did you love him?"

Betty takes another deep breath, although she doesn't take as long to answer this time. After all, she knows the answer to Casey's question as she looks up to him, looking her boyfriend in the eyes as she answers him honestly.

"Yeah, I did. I really did love him... But, that was before everything changed and before he broke my heart completely. However, I think how strongly I felt for him back then only made the way that things ended that much harder..."

Casey can see the remnants of lingering pain in his girlfriend, knowing her well enough to be able to distinguish it in her expression for himself. So, he gives her hand that's clasped within his a reassuring squeeze before raising another question.

"So how have you been since he returned? How has it made you feel?"

"Honestly, Case, the first time I saw him was hard. It was really, _really_ hard... But, now that we've talked about the past, now that he's explained the reason why he left and since he's found out about Bailey, I've felt so much more at peace with everything that's happened, I think. I mean, I don't know, but I think it feels like I'm finally healing."

A glad smile cracks on the corner of Casey's lips as he lowers his head, pressing a kiss to the top of his girlfriend's golden hair as they stroll along slowly. Then, a little look of curiosity spreads across his face as he looks back over to Betty, a little more warily this time.

"I'm glad, Betty... Now, not to sound like a jealous boyfriend, but how sure are you that you can trust him? How certain can you be that it won't just happen again? That he won't get close to Bailey to just walk out all over again? I mean, I just don't want to see either you or Bailey get hurt and to be fair, Jughead doesn't exactly have the best track record in that department..."

Despite her boyfriend's valid argument, Betty's reply is almost instantaneous.

"He won't leave. He wouldn't do that to her. He wouldn't abandon Bailey. It was different before... It was different with me _,_ because, he didn't know about _her_... Even if I didn't know why he left me and the reason that he did what he did, I do know that Jughead would never knowingly abandon his daughter."

Casey just nods, not pushing the matter and his concerns further, only seeking clarification as he raises another question.

"So, he told you the reason he left you... Why _did_ he leave Riverdale?"

Betty exhales a heavy sigh. Just from the reminder of it, Betty feels the weight of the heartbreaking reason why Jughead had left Riverdale all those years ago...

But, then she realises the fact that she can't relay that reason to her boyfriend. After all, Jughead had entrusted her with the truth and the real reason why he left her all those years ago... Betty doesn't know how many other people -if _any_ other people- know that Jughead left Riverdale with the plan to end his own life. But, what she does know is that _she_ can't be the reason that people learn that he was suicidal, pushed to his breaking point that night.

So, from where she and Casey have been slowly strolling down the main street of Riverdale with his hand intertwined with hers, Betty brings them to a stop. Then, Betty turns to face Casey as she looks up and into his chocolate-brown eyes earnestly, bringing her free hand to gently hold the side of his face.

"I'm sorry, Case, but I can't say. I really _can't_ say..."

Betty exhales another sigh upon seeing the look on her boyfriend's face at the necessary secrecy of the issue, before continuing to try to explain.

"I'm sorry. I hate having to keep it from you, but it's just not my place to share the reason why he left... All I'll say is that it has helped me to see the other side of the story and it helped me to see things from his perspective a little more, because I didn't know that he was going through something enormously heavy at the same time, too."

Casey nods at Betty's apologetic look that accompanies her explanation, attempting to hide his own disappointment. Sensing this, Betty is quick to changes the tone of the conversation, trying to propel past the discomfort of having to keep her ex's secret from her boyfriend. So, smiling up at him, Betty extends herself on her tippy-toes in order to reach up and press a kiss to Casey's lips as he leans into her, deepening it. Then when they eventually pull away, Betty's emerald eyes sparkle with gratitude for her boyfriend as she praises his understanding.

" _Thank you_ for being so okay with Jughead."

Casey gives the young mother a nod and a small smile that are accompanied by a little shrug as though it's no big deal.

"It's alright. He's Bailey's dad, after all... I assume that he's going to be a part of our life from here on out" Casey explains honestly as he presses a kiss to his girlfriend's cheek while Betty just smiles back.

Then, in the silence that follows, Casey diverts the conversation just a little.

"So Bailey looks like him, hey?"

"You're not wrong about that..."

Betty exhales an exasperated little sigh to follow her words, acknowledging the fact that had been so bittersweet to her for so many years. Sensing this, Casey gives his girlfriend's hand a comforting little squeeze before speaking up.

"It's funny, because I've always thought that she looks just like _you_. But, then after seeing Jughead again today... Geez..."

" _I know_... Add a little beanie and a few more sardonic comments from her and I've got the female, three-year-old version of him on my hands."

Betty remark is followed by a light-hearted little chuckle. Meanwhile as she is amused by the mental image that only furthers her daughter's resemblance to her father, Casey just nods, biting at his bottom lip contemplatively. His mind is elsewhere as he sees an opportunity arise in the conversation, questioning whether or not to take it...

Then, biting the bullet, Casey takes the conversation on a slightly different path, taking it down a path less-traveled for them, a little nervous to be bringing the topic up.

"Speaking of Bailey... Do you think that you'd ever want to give her a little brother or sister someday?"

Betty's big, emerald green eyes open just a little bit wider than usual as she glances up to her boyfriend coyly, while their hands grasp onto each other's a little tighter subconsciously. She momentarily gauges his expression, making sure that it's actually a serious question before answering him. After all, while Betty and Casey's relationship is still relatively new, it has been serious from the get-go and they have both gone into it with a long-term view in mind.

While they'd briefly had a conversation about marriage before Casey's last work trip, discussing it just enough to determine that it is something that they are both interested in at some point, the topic of children -beyond Betty's own daughter- has never been raised between the couple... Or, at least before now it hasn't.

"Do I want to have another baby? One day, _definitely_... One day, when Bailey's older; when _I'm_ older... After all, sixteen and pregnant wasn't exactly my finest hour" Betty chuckles, her honesty induced by her rising nerves in that moment. "Polly and I have always been so close, so I'd love for Bailey to have that bond with a sibling, too."

Finishing her spiel a little nervously, Betty looks up to where Casey's brown eyes that are shining down on her as they share a smile with each other at the deeper route that the conversation has taken. It's frightening to take a leap of faith in discussing details of the future for the first, but the result only draws the couple that little bit closer together.

"I think that Bailey would make a great big sister someday."

Betty smiles at her boyfriend's suggestion in agreement. Her daughter really _would_ make a good older sister. In fact, Betty has been struck with that very thought a handful of times in the past after witnessing Bailey's caring, nurturing nature in her interactions with others.

"I think you're right about that... But what about you? Are babies on your horizon?"

"One day... _Definitely_ " Casey smirks teasingly, knowingly imitating Betty's response to the similar question from a few moments earlier.

The couple share another smile as Casey pulls their intertwined hands up to his lips. They continue strolling along, undeterred, while he places a kiss on her hand that is being held within his, only increasing her smile as she gazes up him.

Then, after feeling a little flutter within her, Betty's mood changes and she releases a sigh. She then hooks her other arm around their intertwined hands, pulling them in closer towards her while she leans against her boyfriend's shoulder, increasing their hold on each other and especially her hold on him, doing so all a little dramatically to accompany her second wistful sigh.

"I can't believe you have to leave again in just a couple of days. I _just_ got you back..."

"I know, but it's a cruel world, Betty Cooper. A cruel, cruel world..."

* * *

 **Now guys, I know that chapter was _so_ not what people who click on a Bughead fiction are after, but hang in there! There's a bit of a game-changer coming up in the next chapter and things are going to start getting pretty full-on, so just hang in there... It's going to be a roller coaster! We go from heartbreaking, to heart-warming, to devastating, to hopeful, to crushing all within the chapters that follow. **

**I hope you enjoyed gaining a little more understanding on Betty and Casey's history with each other and how they came to be. Sorry for the lack of Jughead and Bailey in this chapter, but in order to properly introduce you to Casey and help you gain more understanding on his relationship with Betty, I felt like it required a whole chapter. The bad news is how serious they are getting with each other. However, I'm interested in seeing what you think of them, their past and their relationship, although they're not Bughead! Also, there was a teeny, little bit of foreshadowing in this one too...**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who left feedback on the last chapter. I appreciate the support and the effort that goes into letting me know your thoughts tremendously and I find it incredibly inspiring, so thank you. Also, special thank you to all the guests on the last chapter as I can't thank you personally.**

 **Next chapter: When one thing after another comes up against him, Jughead reaches breaking point, forcing him to make a devastating decision.**


	24. Breaking Point

**CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR – Breaking Point**

After his daughter fell asleep on him an upwards of two hours ago, Jughead hasn't dared to move a single muscle since. Instead, he's been forced to just sit there and watch the main menu of Dennis the Menace over and over again as a dozen clips repeat themselves, replaying every thirty seconds or so on a loop.

By the time that Jughead's hears a car pull up out the front of Betty's, it's past midnight. However, the cars arrival is followed by a painfully long wait. In fact, there's no noise whatsoever for what feels like an _eternity_ before Jughead finally hears the soft clinking of keys as they slot into and then turn within the lock. In the unaccounted for time between hearing Betty and Casey arriving back and them entering her front door, Jughead tries not to let his mind ponder for long on what they could have been doing out there in the car. However, he does imagine that they _weren't_ just sitting in there, talking about the stock market.

The sound of the keys in the lock is followed by the low creak of the front door opening as two pairs of footsteps slink in, creeping inside as the couple walk in together, hand-in-hand.

"Oh, my baby..." Betty coos as the comes into sight of her lounge, leaving her boyfriend's side and just about collapsing beside Jughead as she melts at the sight of her sleeping daughter in the arms of her father, her hand clapped over her heart.

The next thing that Betty notes is the accessory on Bailey's head, noting that she is sporting a very familiar knitted beanie over-top her golden curls while her father who she has fallen asleep on has his dark curls exposed as a rarity.

" _Wow,_ Jughead... You let her wear your beanie. In all the years, I don't think I've ever seen anyone else wear it since Archie stole it off you during lunchtime one day in second grade."

After she finishes speaking, Betty gives Jughead a smile, knowing the significance of the moment that she's witnessing in front of her. Then, she bends down to brush a lock of hair away from Bailey's eyes that had been kept in place from the weight of the beanie over her locks, pressing a kiss to her daughter's cheek before returning to her boyfriend's side.

"Thanks for looking after her. Was she alright for you?"

"She was perfect. Thanks for letting me have the opportunity to hang out with her" Jughead says earnestly as Betty just returns his words with a small smile.

Then, in the idle moment of silence that follows, Jughead feels the familiar sensation of sticking out like a sore thumb. He feels like he's overstayed his welcome, feeling increasingly out of place in his ex-girlfriend's home with their daughter asleep in his arms, while Betty stands there with her new beau who can't seem to keep his hands off her as she sinks into him a little, resting her head against him sleepily.

He knows it's not intentional whatsoever, but on a subconscious level, Jughead has never felt less wanted anywhere else in his entire life.

"I should head off..."

Betty bites her lip anxiously, feeling the rising discomfort of the situation too, standing between her ex and her boyfriend, before the latter speaks up.

"If you like, I can take Bailey from you and carry her to her room..."

Jughead's face tells Casey _exactly_ what he thinks of his offer as he gives him a stern, warning look that tells him to back off, loud and clear. Besides, he isn't going to give Casey an opportunity to flex his guns, much less hand it to him on a silver platter.

"It's fine. I can carry _my_ daughter to her room."

Casey senses the blunt warning in Jughead's words while Betty shoots Jughead an unimpressed little look to convey the fact that his sharpness is unnecessary. However, neither of them says a thing as Jughead awkwardly brings himself and his daughter to a standing as he carries Bailey to her bedroom.

Then, after putting her on and tucking her into bed, Jughead reappears from Bailey's bedroom just a few minutes later. As he returns to the main area of the small home, he has to interrupt the couple who are speaking privately, in little more than a whisper, prompting Betty to speak up as she notices a difference in her daughter's father.

"Don't you want your beanie back? She's a heavy sleeper. She won't notice if you take it."

"Nah... I'll just grab it off her the next time I see her. I don't really want to create trust issues from stealing my own beanie back off of her."

Betty nods in response while Jughead just looks down to the ground, silently slinking towards the front door.

Then, just as he twists the door handle to open it, Casey springs to action as he pulls away from Betty and walks towards the door to catch Jughead's attention.

"Hey, have you got a way of getting home? I didn't see a car out the front... Do you want a lift back to your place?"

"Yeah, I do, but the way is called 'walking'. Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine."

Casey nods in response before his eyebrows scrunch up just a little out of concern.

"Are you sure? It's dark and late and Riverdale isn't exactly the safest small town in the world. I don't mind dropping you back. It'd be no trouble at all..." Casey assures, gesturing with a hand that he holds out between them.

"Thanks, but it's all good. I'll be fine."

Stepping back in defeat, Casey nods in acceptance of Jughead's wishes before extending one last olive branch towards the younger man, just as he's halfway out the door and about to leave.

"Jughead? You and I should meet up some time... Have a chat over a beer or two. It'd be good to get to know each other a little better."

Realising that he'll come off as the bigger tool if he _doesn't_ accept the offer, Jughead just nods begrudgingly as a sigh accompanies his response. Then, he looks beyond the man that is standing in front of him, looking to where Betty is standing just behind him, only _imagining_ the brownie points that Casey is raking in for himself after ticking off the making-an-effort-with-baby-daddy box.

Then, with a mumbled goodbye, Jughead can feel his heart pound as his stomach alternates between knotting itself and clenching tightly within him as he leaves Betty and Bailey's home.

Leaving the mother of his child with her new boyfriend, Jughead tries not to let his mind linger on thinking about just how much longer the other man stays there for after he leaves, whether he'll just be there for a nightcap or if it'll be a morning coffee the following day.

It takes an enormous amount of effort to put that question to the back of his mind, but Jughead knows that he has to. After all, if he doesn't, he knows that the unknown of that question _will_ kill him slowly if he lets it...

#

The following morning, Betty and Bailey trail into _Pop's_ along with Casey, finding a booth for the three of them.

During the short walk from Betty's apartment to the diner, Casey has carried his girlfriend's daughter atop his shoulders. The three-year-old giggles along at the sensation of being _way_ up in the sky and on top of the world from her perch on the tall man's broad shoulders.

"Now what do you say, Bailey?" Betty encourages, prompting her daughter's manners as Casey carefully sets her down to the ground.

"Thank you, Casey" Bailey says in a sing-song voice as she just about bounces into her seat opposite her mother and her mother's boyfriend.

Once the trio decide on their breakfast and place their order, the conversation begins. While Betty and Casey take turns quizzing the little girl opposite them, they enjoy the opportunities that they find in sharing little moments and subtle looks as they talk with Betty's daughter to keep her engaged.

"Did you have fun with dad last night?" Betty asks conversationally as her long, trim legs entangle themselves with her boyfriend's jean limbs ones under the table.

In response to her mother's question, Bailey nods enthusiastically before her face lights up that bit more as she remembers a particular detail with a little gasp.

"My daddy's a prince! Juggie has a crown!"

Betty chuckles at Bailey's interpretation of her father's trademark accessory.

"I know... And I saw that he let you wear his crown. Did you know that your daddy doesn't let anybody else wear it? You're a pretty lucky girl, Bailey..."

Bailey just giggles proudly at her mother's remark while Betty's attention turns to her boyfriend for a few moments, smiling as his hand begins to go wandering below the table-top of the booth; just discreetly and just between the two of them.

However, the moment is disturbed as Betty's phone begins to vibrate from where it's placed beside the serviettes on the table of the booth that the three of them are sharing. Noting the caller, Betty sends her boyfriend an apologetic look before being quick to answer her phone.

"Hey Jug... Is everything okay?"

#

It's just a little earlier that very same day.

Jughead has barely dragged himself out of bed as he strolls around the streets of Riverdale aimlessly, listening to music, when his ringtone interrupts his song.

"Hello?"

Jughead answers his phone warily, noting the unknown caller. He doesn't _know_ that the call is coming from Oklahoma... He doesn't _know_ the call is being made from a little room, halfway down a corridor at the Oklahoma Hospice... He doesn't _know_ that the caller **isn't** unknown... And, he doesn't _know_ the call is coming from the older man who can feel himself running out of time...

"Hi Forsythe..."

Jughead instantly recognises the voice on the other side of the line. But, there's something telling about his words, his tone. It's almost as though the two words have left him out of breath or he's just waken up. But, it's so calm that it's unsettling.

"Doug? Is that you? You don't sound so good. Is everything alright?"

The older man's words that follow Jughead's question do absolutely _nothing_ to alleviate his fears. In fact, it does less than nothing, only intensifying the mounting weight and pressure of the knot that is growing within the pit of his stomach.

"I just wanted to thank you, Forsythe... Thank you for being such a good friend to a grumpy, old codger like me. "

Panic rises within Jughead both _for_ his old friend and _from_ him. He's desperately trying to analyse the strange phone call that has come out of nowhere, only leaving the younger man feeling as though he's missing a detrimental piece of the puzzle, and _not_ a good piece.

"Doug? What's going on?"

The pause and the sickening silence that follow only leaves Jughead's mind to race and his stomach to plummet in fear, thinking about the worst-case-scenario and his worst nightmares that are set to come true.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner. It wouldn't have been right for me to tear you away from your little girl. It's _still_ not right - stay with her. Look, I don't have long left now; the doctors are talking hours, or days at best. But, before I go, it's important to me for you to know how much I have appreciated you being my friend."

"Doug? Doug?! What the hell are you talking about?! Where's this coming from?"

There's a long, pained sigh over the phone-line before the dying old man finally speaks up and fills his housemate and companion in on the fact that he has kept to himself and had planned to _keep_ to himself. However, it's only now that the eleventh hour has arrived that he's realising that he needs the peace of expressing his gratitude for and say his goodbyes to the young man who means a lot to him, when not many people do.

"I'm dying, Forsythe."

#

As his world begins to crumble and cave in around him, piece by piece, Jughead cannot remember what he _says_ and he does not know what he _does_ after that point. However, all he knows is that he's on course to see the only person that came to his mind after hearing the news.

His heart is pounding, his breaths are short and shaky and all his effort is being poured into keeping it together.

Jughead Jones is still trying to process his absolute shock and escape the blow of the devastating news that has moved him to action.

So, it takes everything he has to approach the diner and to prepare to tell Betty. But, Jughead knows that he needs to tell her about what he needs to do, in person, and as quickly as he can.

After all, Jughead knows he only has one chance with their daughter... He needs Betty to see the reason why he needs to up and leave so abruptly... He needs her to understand... He needs to be there for Doug. But, he also needs to be there for Bailey...

Walking up to the small town's castle of neon that he has approached so, so many times before, Jughead's heart is pounding, the nauseating knot that is fixed deep within the pit of his stomach is ever-present, the knot in his stomach complements the growing lump in his throat and he can feel the warmth from the increase in tears that are threatening to fall.

He feels like the world is moving in slow motion, without him, as he watches on helplessly.

He has never felt so much, yet so little, all at the same time.

But, then, through the front window at _Pop's_ he sees his little girl... He sees her big, baby-blue eyes that sparkle as she giggles. He sees the enormous smile on her rosy-red lips, which has quickly become his favourite sight. He sees her happiness radiating through her big, beaming cheeks, shining out from her eyes...

Through the darkness that has just encompassed Jughead's life, he sees his daughter, he sees _light_.

Then, his heart falls as he sees the big picture, seeing the rest of the scene...

He sees them before they see him, from where is standing outside _Pop's_. The couple have their back facing away and they are focused on engaging in conversation with his daughter, as Casey says something to Bailey from across the table. Then, from Jughead's standing, it almost looks like he shows Bailey a little trick before she erupts into giggles. It has a chain effect and Casey smiles at making her laugh while Betty looks between the two laughing happily.

It's beautiful.

They're the clichéd happy couple, his arm slung around her shoulders as she rests against his shoulder, both laughing along at the joy of the little girl sitting across from them. Their affection is sweet, but measured; nothing too much in front of the three-year-old girl as they chatter to her and include her in the conversations.

It's picture-perfect... They're picture-perfect... They're the picture-perfect _family_.

... The girl he loved and left, his beautiful little girl and the man that isn't him...

 _They're_ the picture-perfect family and _he_ is the one watching from the sidelines. After all, _he_ left them... _He_ lost them...

But, Betty doesn't need him. She has Casey. Bailey has never needed him. They _both_ have Casey; the man who is so much more than him, the man that gives his girls what they deserve.

So, Jughead abandons the path he had originally been going to take, backing away from the diner, from their perfection and from their life, instead of ploughing head-on, into it.

Then, just as he did one night four years ago and just as he did after returning to Riverdale in the recent weeks, Jughead Jones turns around and slowly begins to walk off and walk away, with no intention of ever returning.

However, the difference is that this time he's not just knowingly leaving one girl behind... He's leaving _two_.

* * *

 **So, who thinks I've put Jughead through enough yet? I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the post-date awkwardness, Jughead learning that Doug is dying and the rude awakening of seeing Betty and Bailey as a family with someone else. Will Jughead be able to cope as his life spirals? Will he end up leaving Riverdale? Will Betty forgive him for leaving or has he lost his one and only chance to be a part of Bailey's life?**

 **Thank you so to everyone who has continued to read my story. Double thank you to everyone who left feedback on the last chapter. Especially after the last chapter, thank you for having faith in me and this story. It felt crazy to post a chapter that was entirely _not_ Bughead in a Bughead story. But, thank you, folks, for agreeing with me in seeing how it was needed to gain the big picture and properly incorporate Casey and his relationship with Betty. I hope you all like where the story continues to go with Jughead, Betty, Bailey and Casey...**

 **Next chapter: Without giving away the plot or the context it is in, I will confirm that WE HAVE BUGHEAD in the next chapter; be it in a flashback, be it where the plot goes from here, be it a 'what if', be it a dream. So without giving away how it unfolds, I do want you to know that the next chapter will be salvation from the Bughead drought in this story thus far! **


	25. Rewriting History

**CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE – Rewriting History**

The news that he'd received not even an hour earlier that his housemate, one of his best friends, is terminally ill, with very little time left, had given Jughead one almighty push towards the edge that he's been gradually teetering closer and closer to for quite some time now. Then, seeing Betty and their daughter forming their own perfect little family _without_ _him_ and _with_ _Casey_ had been the final straw. It was the breaking point that crushed the raven-haired man as he turned around, making the decision to walk away from and leave his town and everyone in that town for good, once again.

After all, he feels like the world is against him. One of his best friends is dying. The mother of his child has moved on. His daughter doesn't need him; she never has. He has abandoned almost everyone he cares about, he hasn't been there and now he's suffering the consequences of letting so many people down when they had needed him most.

Then, it all happens within a moment.

A mere moment had been all it took for Jughead Jones to make up his mind, to make his decision, to turn around, to turn away, to turn his back on his ex-girlfriend and his daughter who he has convinced himself does not need him in her life.

But, a mere moment is _also_ all that it takes for a little blonde girl to catch sight of the grief-stricken expression of one broken young man who just so happens to bear a remarkable resemblance to her. As the couple sitting across from her are distracted and from where she's sitting in the booth of the diner, one certain three-year-old looks out the big, glass windows of _Pop's_ , just as Jughead is turning around and just as he is walking away.

Now, it _would_ be just like last time when the same young man made the same decision, resolving within himself to turn around and walk away from this town and his life in this town...

Except, this time, someone stops it.

"Look! It's my daddy! It's Juggie! He's sad!"

The two adults on the other side of the booth have barely had time to catch sight of what the little three-year-old has seen as she releases a little gasp before darting out of her seat and bolting away as fast as her little legs will carry her, racing away from the table, out of the diner and further away from _Pop's_.

"Juggie! Daddy!"

When Jughead hears the little voice following after him distantly, he stops on the spot but fails to turn around. Instead, he doesn't move a muscle as he just stays glued there, frozen solid, desperately attempting to regain even a smidgen of composure with little footsteps rapidly approaching him from behind.

"Daddy! It's Bailey!"

The little girl is desperate to reach her father, she's desperate to give him a hug, to make him feel better as she races as fast as her little legs will carry her towards her dad.

So, there, right out the front of _Pop's_ , one broken young man stands there, hearing his daughter approaching him, while the mother of his child and her boyfriend approach _them_ , just steps behind the little girl.

The spectacle is certainly nothing like the last time Jughead resolved to leave town without a trace four years ago. And, like last time, Jughead hadn't expected anyone or anything to take note.

But, ironically, the person that is stopping him from leaving this time is the thing, the one little person, that would have made him _stay,_ last time.

"Juggie!" Bailey exclaims as she grabs at her father's hand to turn him around, almost as though she doesn't know that she has already caught his attention.

"Bailey..." Jughead just croaks. He knows he needs to do or say something, but all that comes out is his daughter's name. As much as he wants to be able to reassure her and tell her he's okay, he just cannot find those words.

Then, with Betty and Casey just steps behind the father and daughter too, all three of them see Jughead's poorly veiled tears that clearly display his distress. In a feeble attempt to brush it off, he swipes at his damp cheeks with his arm roughly.

However, upon seeing his clear distress and upset, Casey quickly springs to actions and takes the distressed young man's daughter who is standing in front of him into his own arms, picking her up and turning away from seeing him, carrying her back towards the diner instead. Casey does it for both Bailey and Jughead's sake, figuring that Bailey shouldn't have to see her father in that state, and that Jughead wouldn't want her to.

After all, Casey has heard of what Jughead Jones had been through...

It was a well-known fact around town that many years Gladys Jones had left with her daughter, abandoning her husband and their young son. Then, it also became common knowledge that Jughead had been homeless for a considerable amount of time, too. Just from the few things he knows about Jughead, Casey can tell that Jughead has been put through the wringer and he safely assumes that he would have had to gain a thick skin, very quick and very young. He can imagine that he is not the type to break easily and he is right in believing that it would take quite a lot to get him to the state that his daughter has just found him in.

So, regretfully acknowledging that his girlfriend -who happens to be the other man's ex- is the best equipped to handle the situation, Casey takes their daughter in order to give Jughead and Betty a few moments of peace and privacy without Bailey having to see her dad in such a state.

"How about we let your mummy and daddy talk to each other for just a minute while we go and check if our food's ready. We should go and order your dad a drink too, hey?"

Both Jughead and Betty can hear their daughter's heartbreaking protests of concern, repeating: ' _but my daddy's sad!_ ' over and over again as Casey carries her off. But, they know they'll be able to reassure her just a little later on.

Then, once Casey has carried Bailey off to preoccupy her from within the diner, the former lovers are left alone, right there out the front of _Pop's_.

Instantly, one of Betty's hands flies up to Jughead's cheek as the other clutches at his shoulder. Her supportive gesture is enhanced as she looks up at him with deep concern, looking him squarely in his blue orbs that are glassy and reddened at the present moment.

"Juggie? What's wrong? Has something happened? Is there something I can do? Talk to me..." Betty's voice is so soft and so gentle; it's filled with concern for the man standing in front of her.

However, the raven-haired man just stands there for a long, long time before an uncontrollable sniffle surfaces, forcing Jughead to speak.

"He's dying, Betty."

The three words alone fill Jughead's reddened eyes with fresh tears all over again. While they threaten to fall, the glassy tears stay pooling within Jughead's blue eyes as Betty's own stomach plummets, prompting her to take a step closer to her daughter's father as she places both her hands on his shoulders, either side of his neck.

"Who? Who's dying?" Betty asks in little more than a whisper. She feels utterly terrified in the maddening silence, left to be tormented by all the potential answers that her mind conjures up.

"Doug. My housemate in Oklahoma... One of my best friends... He said he doesn't have long left and I didn't even know he was sick."

While Betty has never met the man that Jughead is talking about, she knows of him and she is aware of the profound impact that he has had on Jughead's life.

After all, she knows that Doug was one of Jughead's only friends in Oklahoma and she knows that they have lived together almost the entire four years that Jughead was gone. But, she _also_ knows that Doug was the one who was there for him... When Jughead left Riverdale with ending his own life in mind, Doug had been the one who brought the broken teenager back from the brink. He'd helped him out, he'd helped him to keep on fighting through the bad days and he helped to get him settled and back on his feet in the new city.

Although he has done so much more than that for the younger man over the years, ultimately Doug had helped Jughead to see the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Without him, the father of Betty's daughter wouldn't be standing in front of her today.

So, from where her hands are placed on his shoulders and on either side of Jughead's neck, after hearing the revelation coming from the raven-haired-man standing before her, Betty's hands lower and move towards his back, pulling him in for a hug. She can only imagine how he's feeling.

"Oh, Juggie... I'm so sorry."

After she opens her arms out to her ex-boyfriend, the two stay there, right out the front of _Pop's_ , standing in the lingering embrace of their hug as Betty allows Jughead to absorb as much strength as he needs from her in that moment.

Then, Jughead eventually pulls away, covering his red eyes and damp, blotchy skin with his hands that clasp over his face.

"I've got to go to Oklahoma. I'm sorry. I've got to leave. It's the least I can do for him. I owe that -and so much more- to Doug."

Jughead isn't sure quite what he's expecting. Anger, perhaps? Maybe disappointment... He assumes that the worse case scenario is Betty relinquishing his right to be in their daughter's life after ruining his last chance, but he doesn't know _exactly_ what to expect and he doesn't know what's coming next.

However, he certainly doesn't expect the response that he _does_ get...

"We're coming with you. If you're going back to Oklahoma, then Bailey and I are coming too."

Through his red, bleary eyes, Jughead gives Betty a look that is riddled with disbelief from her words.

"Betty, _no_... You can't afford it. You don't have to haul our daughter halfway across the country for my sake."

"I can't let you go alone. Not in this state. Not now that I know the reason why you left Riverdale for Oklahoma the first time. I won't let you feel that alone again."

One of Betty's hands raises to Jughead's cheek tenderly, comfortingly. Although she speaks in little more than a whisper, Betty's concern and deep care for the father of her child speaks volumes at the painful reminder of the fact that he'd left her -he'd left _them-_ in order to end his own life all those years ago, when a broken boy lost his final bit of hope for life.

"We're here for you, Jug. Me, our little girl, we're here for you..."

#

After Betty announced that she and her daughter would be joining Jughead on his trip back over to Oklahoma the plans quickly came to fruition, knowing that they are in a race against the clock.

Initially they'd decided to catch the next bus over seeing as neither Jughead or Betty could afford plane fares, especially at the amount that they'd need to fork out for the last-minute trip.

However, upon learning of their plans, Casey had intervened. While he himself had a work trip to Seattle that he couldn't reschedule, Casey had quickly spoken up after hearing that Betty and Jughead were catching the bus over with their daughter, just desperately hoping that the far slower trip will leave them with enough time in the race against the clock, hoping that Jughead would reach his friend before he passed away. Explaining that he had more than enough frequent flier points accrued, Casey offered to send Betty, Jughead and Bailey over to Oklahoma by plane, rather than bus.

Despite Jughead's repeated attempts to turn Betty's boyfriend's offer down, Casey insisted that you can't put a price on the value of someone's life and the opportunity to see someone for the very last time. He was also reminded that the difference in travel time between a flight and a bus trip could be the difference in making it in time or not. So, detailing that with no payback, no favours and no repayment, Casey insisted on getting Jughead over to Oklahoma with Betty and Bailey, as quickly as they can in the race against the clock.

Betty and Jughead then went their separate ways for Betty to quickly pack a few essentials for herself and her daughter, while Jughead quickly flew past his father's trailer to collect his wallet that he needed and a couple of other necessaries. When FP had caught wind of Jughead's travels plans and his housemate's impending demise, he too insisted on joining his son, his granddaughter and the girl who is like a daughter to him on their trip, too. After all, FP wanted the opportunity to thank the man that had been there for his son when he needed it, when he wasn't. He wanted to thank him for helping Jughead to become the man that he has become, with Doug being such a positive influence on FP's son at such an impressionable age.

Consequently, within hours there are four individuals all aboard the same flight. The two young parents are sharing an aisle with their daughter, while FP sits on the end seat of the row beside the trio.

While Betty was a little terrified of how her daughter would go flying for the very first time, Bailey had taken it like a pro, grumbling about her sore ears for just a few minutes after take-off, before conking out within the first half an hour of the flight.

Giving Jughead the window seat, Betty had seated herself in the middle of the cluster of seats, sitting between him and their daughter. After all, Betty figured it was the best position to be able to be there for them both, able to care for Bailey as needed, keep her preoccupied with food, listen to her jabbers and answer the millions of ' _are we there yet?_ ' while still being able to offer support to Jughead, without him having so many interruptions from their three-year-old and avoiding Bailey having to see her father in his shell-shocked, grief-stricken state.

A short while into the flight, just after the air hostesses have brought the first round of refreshments around, Betty asks Jughead a whispered question after she has spent the last few minutes watching him intently, riddled with concern.

"Jug? How are you doing?" Betty gently asks the beanie-clad man who is sitting to her left.

Turning from where he'd been looking out the small window of the plane and watching the stark white and light blue hues, Jughead looks to Betty after she's raised the question to him.

"I'm trying to wrap my head around it. I just can't believe it... Before I left, he was _fine_. He seemed so healthy. And now-"

Betty can hear the croak of the lump in his throat in Jughead's voice as he trails off, unable to finish his sentence. Then, as she sees the despair, the heartbreak in his eyes, she can't stop herself from comforting him, doing anything she can to shoulder his burden, to take away even just a _little bit_ of his pain.

So, looking to where his arm is on the arm-rest between them, Betty's hand swoops in and takes her hand into his, clutching it tightly with a squeeze of reassurance. He looks down to their intertwined hands before his gaze flies up to her as Jughead gives Betty an appreciative look and just the very smallest of smiles.

For a good few moments they share that look as the care on her face is returned with his own little smile of gratitude. However, it is over all too soon, fading away gradually before Betty glances over to their daughter as she shifts on the seat beside her just a little while Jughead's gaze returns to looking out of the planes window once again. However, even after the look that they had shared has drawn to a close, their hands stay in place. The truth of the matter is that it is far too easy to fall back into old habits under the premise of support.

A few minutes pass before Jughead looks to the blonde sitting beside him who is on her phone, appearing to be typing something in her notes before he speaks up.

"Betty?"

With her attention captured, the blonde looks back to the father of her child who's sitting to her left, expectantly waiting for him to continue speaking after uttering her name, abandoning the note that she'd been halfway through typing.

"Thank you for coming."

Betty just gives Jughead a kind smile. She doesn't tell him ' _that's okay_ ' or _'it's no trouble at all'_ , because Betty wouldn't have it any other way.

Across the aisle, FP Jones notes the hand-hold between the former lovers, as their daughter sleeps peacefully on the seat beside her mother. The older man sees the look that they share. Betty's eyes are filled with concern for his son, while Jughead's walls don't fly up. He lets her see him like this and he doesn't bother trying to hide his pain or conceal his grief in front of her.

 _It's raw_... Her care and his vulnerability.

The silent exchange is such a beautifully raw moment between the two parents.

There's so much care, there's so much concern and there's so much love between the two who have such a long, heartbreaking and deep history with each other.

 _However_ , that deep love and mutual care is only evident to the bystander, to the third party watching on in the background, observing the two, utterly oblivious youths.

* * *

 **So, despite poor Jughead's crumbling world, I hope you liked the way that that played out. I told you to trust me, didn't I? Thankfully the most Bughead chapter that this story has seen yet came when the fandom needs it more than ever. Anyway, don't forget to let me know what you thought of the chapter and the way things have unfolded in what certainly made for a bit of a game changer!**

 **Biggest of thank you's to everyone who left feedback on the last chapter. Thank you, thank you, thank you!**

 **Next chapter: It's a race against the clock. Have they made it in time? Then, Jughead's loved ones rally around him in support.**


	26. Saying Goodbye

**CHAPTER TWENTY SIX – Saying Goodbye**

As soon as their plane lands in Oklahoma, the group of four make their way out of the airport, almost immediately finding an available taxi which sends them on their way for the hospice centre which they have come all this way for. Then, as soon as they reach their destination, they head straight inside and for the receptionist.

Throughout the entire transit between the airport and the hospice, there's a palpable tension and anxiety in the air. Not only is the mood sombre, but the three adults are acutely aware that it's a race against the clock. In fact, if not for the three-year-old who asks her mum questions and points things out to her grandfather, there would almost certainly be a cloud of sombre silence blanketing the group.

Reaching the receptionist whose eyes narrow as she looks up to the group of four that are approaching her station, Jughead leads the group as he looks to the middle-aged woman a little fearfully, speaking up for the first time since his flight.

"We're here to see Douglas Blake. I'm his housemate, Forsythe Jones."

As the receptionist turns to her computer in front of her, the group are overcome with a sickening silence.

Jughead anxiously fumbles with and adjusts the beanie on his head which his daughter had returned to him earlier that day. Betty bites her lip as she stands back, silently glancing between the man standing in front of her and their daughter standing by her side. Then, with Bailey holding his hand and standing between himself and Betty, FP's free hand brushes his hair back in the silence, with his eyes fixed on watching his firstborn intently, filled with concern.

Then, three Joneses and a Cooper all stand together in the corridor, united, to hear the words that bring Jughead's world crashing down...

"I'm truly sorry. Mr. Blake slipped into a coma shortly before he passed away just over an hour ago. I'm very sorry for your loss."

Just like the older man who had been merely a few rooms away from where they are standing, all air slips out of Jughead. He can't breathe. However, unlike that of one of his closest friends, _his_ breath eventually returns again.

Then, as the receptionist continues to speak, no one really hears the words that she's saying, _especially_ not Jughead. However, she explains to Jughead that as he had been listed as Doug's primary contact person they had been unsuccessfully trying to reach him and inform him of his death, however his phone hadn't been changed from aeroplane mode that it had been set to for their flight.

Then, it's the three-year-old who isn't quite aware of what's going on and the significance of what has just been said who speaks up next, pointing out the jar of jellybeans that are on the counter the receptionist's desk. Hearing his granddaughter's little voice breaking through the silence reminds FP of her presence when his focus had been on his son. Then FP is quick to calmly nod to Bailey in acknowledgement of her remark before quickly picking her up into his arms and carrying her away from the eye of the storm, away from the intensity of the moment as quickly and as effortlessly as possible without causing a scene. The doting grandfather speaks quietly to the little girl, telling her that they'll go for a walk and find something to eat, leaving her two parents standing there.

Meanwhile, trying to process the receptionists words, all colour drains for Jughead's face. Everything moves in slow-motion. While he can see the receptionist's lips moving from in front of him, followed by the woman standing by his side, he can _see_ that movement but he can't hear a thing.

The closest thing that compares to what Jughead is feeling is as though a wave has just come crashing down in his world... Ever so suddenly and without warning, everything is underwater. Everything is moving in slow-motion... Movements and motion are significantly heavier from the pull against water... The little noise that can be heard is just muffled and indistinct... And, it's pulling him under, submerging him...

It's only as he's collapsing into arms that he hadn't even noticed being opened up to him when it's though the crawling effect of slow-motion is switched off and the world returns to normal, bringing the gut-wrenching pain crashing down with it.

Then, for the longest time, they just stand there with Betty holding Jughead, right there in the middle of the corridor at the hospice that they had come all this way for, only to learn that they'd failed in their mission. The clock had beaten them and there is no way that they are able to backtrack and buy an extension of time.

He is completely limp in her arms. There are no tears and there is no outward display of Jughead's crushing grief. Instead, the toll that's being taken on him is internal, swallowing him whole as he feels the pain of his close friend and housemate's death, unable to escape the guilt over the fact that he wasn't there for him. After all, despite everything that Doug had done for _him_ , Jughead wasn't there to return the favour when _he_ needed him more than ever...

Then, after the longest time, and from where he's slumped in her arms, Betty hears slow murmurs coming from the father of her child. He's not necessarily talking to her; he's not necessarily talking to _anyone_. He's just expressing the guilt that he can longer contain within himself as it bubbles over and pours out of him. In his whispered confessions, the heartbreak can be heard loud and clear in his voice, no matter how softly he's speaking.

"I'm too late... I should have been there for him... I let him down... I've let him down, _too_."

#

After a while and after communicating with Betty to check how his son was coping, FP brings Bailey back to the hospice with a rainbow ice-cream in hand.

Then, FP and Betty almost trade places in a silent swap. FP moves to support his pale, shell-shocked son who hasn't spoken beyond his murmured words to Betty just after learning his housemate had succumb to his terminal illness. Meanwhile, Betty turns her attention to her daughter, showing an interest in Bailey's ice-cream. She says that she is a lucky little girl to get the treat from her grandfather who is always more than happy to spoil her, before checking that her daughter had thanked him for it. Betty just tries to keep her interaction with her three-year-old as normal as possible, trying to avoid raising alarm bells to Bailey as her father's world is crumbling down beside them.

Then, it's after he gains just a slither of cognizance to his surroundings and the fact that they are just standing there outside a hospice, when Jughead offers to take his family back to the residence that he is now the sole occupant of.

After another short trip back to the small home, Jughead unlocks the front door and enters the house for the first time in almost a month.

He feels like there's a blank that needs to be filled in the silence. He feels like he needs to make some clichéd remark about his home in Oklahoma; the home he shared with the man who has just lost his fight for life. But, the words just don't come out. Betty and FP understand.

However, the little three-year-old in their presence is oblivious to the sombre tone and the sensitivity of the moment, racing into the home after her mother had discreetly informed her that ' _this is daddy's house, Bailey_ ' in a whisper as they walked towards the front door just moments ago.

"Daddy's house!" Bailey exclaims with a squeal of excitement as she runs through the unfamiliar home, racing past her parents and her grandfather to do a little twirl in the open space of the living area.

"Bailey!" Betty exclaims, racing after her daughter and picking her up as quickly as she can. After all, she can't possibly imagine how it must feel for Jughead to be returning to the home that he had shared with his friend who has just passed away. But, seeing their daughter use that home for her own rendition of 'The Nutcracker' is hardly the most sensitive thing.

However, the smallest of smiles quirks on the corner of Jughead's lips at seeing his daughter's joy and her innocence as she makes herself right at home. Then, he speaks up to whoever is listening, _if_ anyone is listening, as he quietly muses to himself.

"I wish he had a chance to meet her... He was pretty gruff on the outside, but really he was just a big old softy. He probably would have spoiled her rotten, but I think he would have loved knowing her..."

#

Later that night and after putting Bailey to bed, Betty wanders around the unfamiliar home quietly, looking to check on the father of her child before she too heads to bed.

Peering through the open doorway, Betty catches sight of the raven-haired-man sitting on a pile of blankets, leaning back against the nearby wall, looking out onto nothing. His blue-eyes look absent.

As she gently knocks on the wooden doorframe of the open room, Betty jolts Jughead from his silent thoughts. Looking over to her, Jughead doesn't say a word but he does make some sort of noise or grunt and Betty takes it as permission being granted for her to enter the room. So, Betty slowly steps into the room and takes a seat at the desk that is right beside the entrance of the small room, Jughead's study, where he does the majority of his work and writing from.

Walking into the room, Betty is overcome by the feeling of how temporary it is; much like his bedroom that she and Bailey are staying in. It's like, although he continued _living_ , he never really made a _life_. He just got up in the morning and went about his day, before returning home, going to bed and starting all over again...

Honestly, after spending so many years agonizing over where Jughead was and whether he was okay, peering into the little glimpses that she's been given of his life for the last four years has been overwhelming for Betty, too.

But, despite the enormity of pain that Jughead had brought upon Betty, she just hopes that he was _happy_ for those four years that she spent carrying and then raising their child solo...

Shaking herself from her own thoughts as she looks around the room, Betty's bright emerald eyes lock to him in order to display her wholehearted concern as she asks Jughead a gentle question.

"How are you doing, Jug?"

Jughead just shrugs. He can't find the words to answer Betty's question. He's not sure if there even _are_ any words to answer it. That's if there even _is_ an answer to her question right now. Betty simply nods in response before posing another gentle question.

"Do you want to talk?"

Again, he gives her another simple gesture, this time in answer to her offer.

She too once again gives him an understanding nod, not pushing it, or _him_ , further. Then, it's just as she glances away to reduce the intensity of her worried gaze towards Jughead when Betty spots something on the desk that she's sitting at out of the corner of her eye, grabbing her attention.

There, on Jughead's untouched desk, is the note that Doug had left him; the note that Jughead had read as he drank his coffee on the morning that he got on a bus and returned to Riverdale... The same day that marked the very last time he saw one of his dearest friends alive.

' _Get on that bus. Go face those demons... Mind you, I can hardly imagine that your pretty blonde girl could be considered that. I'm proud of you, Forsythe... Life's already too short as it is. Remember that._ '

Reading the messy scrawl of the small, hand-written note, the smallest of smiles begins to quirk on the corner of Betty's lips. Although she doesn't say a single word about it, the small note warms Betty's heart. After all, despite the fact that Betty knows that Jughead did his upmost to leave his life in Riverdale behind, she realises that he must have at least mentioned her. Not to sound presumptuous at all, but she realises that surely _she_ is the subject of the note that is being alluded to; the 'demon' to be faced back in Riverdale.

So, suppressing the smile on her lips in order to be considerate of and sensitive towards Jughead, Betty pushes the note to the back of her mind as she gets up and moves across the room to where Jughead is sitting up against the wall, looking out on the room distantly. Walking over to him, Betty crouches down beside him, watching him intently, with her concern etched on her face.

"Is there anything that I can do for you?"

Betty's question results in just another headshake.

"Okay... Now, Juggie, I'm heading to bed. But, if you want to talk, or if there's absolutely anything you need or if there's just anything that I can do for you, it doesn't matter what time it is, just wake me. Okay?"

This time, the very smallest of smiles and two small words accompany Jughead's initial gesture and nod as he acknowledges her.

"Thanks Betts."

#

Despite the influx of visitors that have been brought home to the small house in Oklahoma, it is like an unwritten rule between them to keep Doug's room untouched.

Consequently, Jughead had offered his bedroom to Betty and Bailey, while his father was assigned to the lounge with Jughead just finding a bunch of pillows and spare blankets to make something that resembles a bed on the floor of his study.

Unsurprisingly, Jughead doesn't sleep well that night and it has absolutely nothing to do with his uncomfortable makeshift bed.

Later that night, it's just passed midnight when FP trails out of the living room where he's crashing on the lounge for the duration of his stay at his sons place. It's almost as though he can sense Jughead's is wide awake and all alone in the small apartment. But, then again, it doesn't exactly take a genius to realise that he's grieving tonight of all nights.

So, as he walks out of the lounge room and into the kitchen, FP immediately spots Jughead's sitting there in the darkened room with just one lamp on the other side of the room to illuminate the entire area.

"How are you doing, mate?" FP asks, speaking softly into the night as he takes a seat at the breakfast bar beside his son.

At his father's presence beside him, Jughead quickly glances beside him before he exhales a deep sigh.

"I should have been there... He was there for _me_."

At his son's guilt-ridden words, FP doesn't say a thing, remaining silent.

After all, he doesn't quite know what his son's relationship with his roommate was like who he has never personally met. FP doesn't know if they are just two unlikely friends or if it is more like a father-son bond. So, because he doesn't know what to do or say that is going to bring Jughead the comfort he so desperately needs, he doesn't even try.

FP doesn't _try_ to understand his grief and he doesn't _try_ to understand the bond between Jughead and Doug. Instead, he just focuses on being there for him. He just makes sure that –unlike most of his son's life- Jughead knows that he is there for him, now that Doug is not.

Then, FP doesn't need to probe his son with any further questions and he doesn't need to speak again before Jughead breaks through the silence, offering up more cryptic words of his own accord.

"I owed him my life, dad. Yet I couldn't even be there for him when his was coming to an end..."

FP looks at his son a little curiously. His eyebrows are knitted with confusion at Jughead's remark, not knowing the reason he's referring to as to why his son owes his deceased housemate his life, feeling as though there's an imperative piece of the puzzle that is missing.

After the day he has had, leaving him feeling emotionally and mentally wrecked, Jughead's loose lips keep moving. There's no filter and Jughead couldn't care less about divulging the truth to his father about the _real_ reason behind his guilt and his bond with the friend whom he lost today, as the words just about slip out.

"You know I left Riverdale the night you were arrested... I just got on the bus that was going somewhere, anywhere and I just left... It didn't matter where I was going. All that mattered to me was what I was going to be doing."

With his gaze fixed firmly on his son, FP nods silently, hoping it's enough to prompt Jughead to continue speaking. But, nothing could prepare the man for the words that he is about to hear.

"I was suicidal, dad... I left town to take my own life. And, if it wasn't for Doug, I would have done it."

Then, as his own words take him all the way back to four years ago, it only intensifies his guilt over failing his friend and Jughead finally breaks...

Furling over in his seat at the bench, Jughead curls into himself as he collapses. He's unable to hold himself up and keep himself upright any longer.

Meanwhile, as he focuses on comforting his son, FP's brown eyes widen, looking to the younger man after his shocking admission. FP too is guilt ridden at the thought of the years of trauma and family troubles that he's put his son through, along with the tipping point that his wrongful arrest had induced.

Then, leaving his own seat at the bench, FP stands up and steps closer to his son, standing over top of him as he pulls his arms over Jughead, holding his collapsed body from beneath his as the younger man's body quakes with his grief-stricken cries.

"Oh, my boy... I'm sorry... I am _so_ sorry for everything I've done wrong. I'm so glad that he was here for you. You have no idea how thankful I am that you're still here."

Between his trembles and cries, Jughead continues speaking, his guilt-ridden words escaping him without a filter.

"He saw me that day... He realised what I was going to do. He stopped me. He saved my life. And, I wasn't even there for the end of his. I should have been there for him... I shouldn't have let him die alone."

There's absolutely _nothing_ that FP can say to remedy Jughead's guilt over failing to be there for yet another person in his life.

So, FP just keeps a steady hand on Jughead's shoulder as he holds him, putting his own reeling shock to the side to be there for his son. He still has no idea what the right words to say are, nor does he know what he can do to bring his son any comfort whatsoever. But, he just focuses his attention on staying there and being there, something which he has failed his son abysmally on for most of his twenty-one years.

Then, the father and son just stay there, sharing the silence of the room for most of the long night as FP comforts his distraught son.

#

While FP had been planning to stay for the entire trip, he unexpectedly needed to cut his trip short after learning that his request for time off was denied and he was due for work the following day. With his record, not many job opportunities come his way. So, with his job being threatened if he failed to show up for work tomorrow with bereavement leave not extending to someone that FP had never met, FP couldn't afford the risk of staying on.

However, with FP leaving Oklahoma, it left the dilemma of Betty and Bailey.

Betty doesn't want to leave Jughead. She knows the care and sensitivity of his current situation and she knows the need to tread lightly with him at present. She knows that he needs someone to be there for him right now. She _couldn't_ leave him on his own. Betty cannot even take a chance on it with the possibility of Jughead teetering off the unstable edge that he is nearing, shrouded in his raw grief...

But, with his father needing to return to Riverdale, one of his friend's on the other side of the country and his other set to be buried within the following days, Betty knows that _she_ needs to be the one to be there for him. She can't leave him alone, not knowing all that she knows and not knowing the state that he's been thrown into all over again with Doug's death.

However, knowing that she needs to be there for Jughead is the easy part... It's determining how to juggle their daughter which complicates matters.

After all, in the wake of Doug's death, Betty has no idea how Jughead will take it or in what way he'll need to grieve in order to move forward. But, she doesn't want their three-year-old to have to see that side of her father, nor does she want Jughead to have to try to bottle it up for staying strong in front of Bailey.

So, after much discussion and debate between Jughead and Betty, their parents and her boyfriend it was decided that FP would take Bailey (with a lot of colouring books, a lot of toys and a lot of treats as bribery) back to Riverdale on the next flight home. Then, until Bailey's parents return home from Oklahoma she will stay with her other grandparents, with Alice coordinating to work from home in order to take care of her youngest grandchild.

Consequently, this brings the group of four to the airport, where Jughead and Betty have continued as far as they can before they have to say goodbye to their daughter and his father.

Crouched by Bailey's side, Betty is doing everything that she can to keep it together and fight back her stream of tears that are being held back by the floodgates. Even though it's just six months away, Betty can't quite fathom how she's going to be able to bring herself to send her daughter to preschool, having to say goodbye to her every day.

"Oh, my baby, I love you so, so much... Be good, okay? You are going to have _so_ much fun with Nanna and Grandad, but daddy and I will be back home really, really soon."

Feeling the threatening tears that are growing that little bit closer to flooding her face, Betty gives her daughter one big, final squeeze and a kiss to her cheek before allowing Jughead to do the same and say goodbye to their little girl. He proceeds to crouch down in front of her, brushing away a curl that is dangling in front of Bailey's face before he gently clasps the side of her face in his hand, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. Doing so, he looks her in the eyes earnestly as her beautiful, bright, blue eyes melt his heart.

"Bye sweetie. I'm really sorry I haven't been very much fun lately. But, Bailey, please don't ever forget that daddy loves you, okay?"

Then, it takes all of Jughead's willpower to put on a strong front for his daughter as he gives her a cuddle and ruffles her golden locks as they pull away. Her eyes light up happily from the way he plays with her hair.

Looking to Bailey after they pull back from their hug goodbye, Jughead realises that he needs to learn from his grief and he needs to learn from his guilt over failing to be there for Doug when he needed him most of all too. It's much like Jughead's other deep scar from the guilt of knowing that he'd failed to be there for the little girl standing right in front of him, and her mother.

So, learning from his grief and his plaguing guilt, Jughead realises that he needs to make sure he never, ever abandons that little girl that's standing in front of him; _his_ little girl. He needs to make damned sure that he's there for her for everything, big and small, easy and hard. And, he needs to make sure that she _knows_ that he's there for her in every part of her life...

Then, after the final, difficult goodbyes, the two parents watch on as their little girl slowly fades from their sight as she walks hand-in-hand with her grandfather through the boarding gates and onto their plane back to Riverdale.

As soon as her little girl that she'd been staying strong for is out of view, Betty releases an audible sob as her tears stream down her face. As much as she tries to continue to contain it, once Bailey is out of sight, Betty no longer has strength to do so.

It's barely even begun, yet the goodbye and the separation-anxiety kills Betty as she has to watch their daughter leave them, with her enormous, pink backpack on her little back, looking far too little to be without her parents. Yet, Bailey is far stronger than both of them as she follows her grandfather on the plane without a fuss and a single tear.

Then, after she has been the one by his side supporting him over the last day, the tables suddenly turn as Jughead wraps a comforting arm around Betty's shoulders to console her while her head collapses against his shoulder at his familiar, calming touch.

"It's not too late, Betts. You can go back now, too. You might just be able to fluke a ticket on the same flight. Or, at worst, you can grab a seat on the next one headed for Riverdale. I can see that it's killing you having to leave Bailey just for my sake."

Betty just swipes the tears from her eyes as she shakes her head at Jughead's suggestion.

"No. I'll be okay. I'm not leaving you alone right now. Besides, you saw our big, brave girl just then... Right now, Bailey's dad needs me more than she does."

Jughead doesn't say a word, he just gives her the smallest of smiles as he glances back towards her as she swipes at her damp cheeks, with her words that follow consoling herself as much as him.

"After all, we're a team, Jughead Jones. From being two amateur sleuths working together searching creepy hospitals and reviving newspapers to being parents... We always have been a team."

With a smile followed by silence, the two of them stand there in the middle of the airport, looking out of the big, glass windows and out onto the airstrip in front of them as they wave goodbye to their daughter and his father.

Then, after the plane has ascended out of sight and with their arms still slung around each other's backs supportively, Betty gently raises another concerned question to him, looking up and looking deep into his baby-blue-eyes that she's so thankful that their daughter inherited.

"Now, are you ready to say goodbye?"

* * *

 **200 reviews guys! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone of you who has contributed to that number and especially those of you that have so loyally read and reviewed every chapter. I hope you all continue to enjoy the journey with Betty, Jughead, Bailey, and co. I appreciate the support from you all immensely and the feedback has been so inspiring. Thank you.**

 **Anyway, quite a lot of angst in that chapter. Although I was so tempted to keep Doug alive that little bit longer to be able to meet Jughead's girls and say a proper goodbye** **, time runs out far too quick in life and you don't always _get_ the perfect goodbye, or even just closure. But, thankfully poor Jughead has his dad, Betty and Bailey to support him through it and brighten his life at the moment.**

 **Next chapter : The emotions of the funeral stirs up history as Betty supports Jughead through Doug's funeral. Then, Jughead is held accountable for the fact that he had been planning to leave Riverdale -and Bailey- once again.**

 **Also, keep an eye out on tumblr (riverheadCF) because I'm hoping that a little sneak peek for the following chapter will be going up over the next few days...**


	27. When In Rome

**CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN – When In Rome**

Just two days after their group of four had dwindled down to two marks the day of the funeral. It's the day when just ten other people –a selection of acquaintances and locals- gather together, standing there in the middle of the cemetery to pay their respects to and remember the life of Douglas Blake.

Through the service, Betty Cooper stands there respectfully and courteously, dressed in black, not fully registering most of the words in the eulogy about one man she has never personally met. Instead, standing by his side, all of Betty's focus is poured out on watching the man beside her, knowing just how shaky the ground that his life is resting on is at the moment...

Meanwhile, despite all the clichés, all the things you're supposed to think and everything you're supposed to feel when faced with the loss of a loved one, Jughead just simply feels numb... Completely and utterly _numb_.

Then, before he knows it, it's all over. It's almost as though a timer ends and all the time that was allocated to commemorating Doug's life is up. All ten people who had gathered together disassemble and return to their own lives, like the funeral was just a little speed bump in carrying out their day as usual.

Doug was widowed a few months before he and Jughead met. He has no children, no grandchildren, and Jughead was one of the only friends he had. Consequently, Jughead –or Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Third- was the sole beneficiary named in Doug's will. He gained everything, not that it matters. So, a headstone is seemingly all that amounts to one man's entire life...

But, it's not.

There's more to it than that. And, even in the few short years that Jughead knew his friend Doug, he's taken so much more than that away from their friendship; courtesy of the wise advice he had share, the pushes he had given him and his understanding of life that far exceeds Jughead's knowledge.

There's so much more that Doug Blake left behind for Jughead Jones. There's so much that he has learnt from and so much more than he makes sure that he will continue to learn from...

#

Two shot-glasses land back down on the bar within seconds of each other, followed by a exhale from one person and a little squeak from the other. From where he's seated beside her, Jughead looks to Betty with an amused smirk as she just sends him a glare in return.

" _What?_ The hard stuff isn't what I usually turn to... Bailey isn't _that_ badly behaved."

After the funeral, Jughead had invited her to his local pub down the road where he is far more acquainted with the bistro menu rather than the bar. After all, he'd learnt from his fathers mistakes and his dependency on alcohol. Consequently, aside from special occasions or a particularly bad day, Jughead is not much of a drinker at all. However, after the funeral, he wanted to be _anywhere_ but in the home that he had shared with his old mate. Consequently, the two young parents had ventured down the road with Jughead eager to numb the pain of the day, while Betty wasn't complaining about the rare opportunity to have a night-out, seeing as she is currently halfway across the country from her daughter.

"I can get you something lighter. A white? What do you usually drink? I might know what milkshake to order you, but I've never really had a chance to get to know your alcoholic beverage of preference."

Betty just shakes Jughead's offer off with a wave of her hand. "No, no no. I'll just have what you're having. After all, when in Rome..."

Jughead nods in response to Betty's insistence. He knows the woman beside him well enough to know it's not worth even trying to deter her from what she has made her mind up on. Betty Cooper is far too stubborn to be swayed. So, Jughead just grabs a few peanuts from the bench-top in front of them, shaking his head at her stubbornness while she turns her attention to her phone for just a moment before returning her glance to him with a coy look.

"Look, I know we're supposed to be here to forget, but can I just ask you one question?"

Jughead doesn't hesitate in nodding and with his approval Betty raises the question that had piqued her interest earlier that day.

"After you moved here, you started going by Forsythe, didn't you? That's what everyone at the funeral service seemed to be calling you..."

Jughead nods in confirmation of her question, exhaling a sigh as the effort that he intentionally made so that Betty –or anyone else- would not be able to find him becomes increasingly evident. The truth hurts. Consequently, Betty also nods silently, biting on the corner of her lip as she remembers back to her struggle of trying to track down the father of her child four years ago.

"No wonder I couldn't find any trace of 'Jughead Jones' after you jumped on a bus out of Riverdale... I did try Forsythe a couple of times, but I obviously didn't keep trying that for long enough after you would have started leaving a trail."

"Don't blame yourself, Betty. I was the one who took myself off the grid. I was the one who didn't want to be found."

Betty just nods. However, she's fails to be convinced by Jughead's words, just looking away from him and turning her attention to the coaster that her shot-glass has been placed back down onto as she fidgets with it silently. They stay like that until Jughead exhales a deep sigh, his head falling into his palms as his initial comment grows and flourishes when he gives his mind free-rein, allowing it to blossom into a full blown list of all the mistakes that have branched off from one of his initial decisions to make sure he couldn't be tracked down and found all those years ago.

Then, it becomes clear that his second shot of vodka is kicking in and loosening his lips as he openly volunteers his though to Betty with another sigh, summarising his self-loathing and guilt over his past decisions to her, concisely.

"It's just like Doug. I wasn't there for him, just like I wasn't there for our daughter... Like I wasn't there for _you_..."

Glancing to the man sitting beside her, blue eyes meet green before Betty flinches away painfully. After all, Betty, along with their daughter, had been weighed down and loaded with an enormous amount of pain and difficulty as a result of the decisions that Jughead had solely made to leave all those years ago; the decision that Betty doesn't _need_ to comfort him over the ramifications of now. Seeing as she still has her own scars from the results of Jughead's decisions, it takes everything that Betty has to set aside her own pain in that moment in order to focus on the fact that blaming him entirely isn't completely fair.

"Just like you didn't _know_ that Doug was terminally ill, you didn't _know_ I was pregnant. You didn't _know_ Bailey existed."

Jughead looks over to her from where they are seated beside one another in the bustling bar. He studies her familiar green eyes and watches her intently, looking for any sign that he shouldn't believe the reassuring words that she's telling him, looking for any glimpse that tells him that she doesn't believe her own words.

Then, he exhales a sigh and chuckles to himself about a realisation that he's made that is anything _but_ funny.

"It's ironic, really... Doug pushed me to return to Riverdale, to stop running from my past that I'd spent four years dodging. _He_ gave me the push in the right direction... I think he must have known by that point. It was like, to him, putting _his_ affairs in order involved him making sure that _I_ sorted my life out..."

Normally Jughead is the sort to internalise everything and mentally analyse everything that he's currently saying aloud in this moment. However, after a few drinks and in Betty's comfortable company, it's like Jughead just can't stop himself from verbally processing the lead-up to the sudden loss of his good friend. Meanwhile, on the bar-stool beside him, Betty just listens intently. Her complete focus that is poured out on him is indicated in her every small expression and gesture towards him as she just sits there and _listens_.

Then, Jughead exhales a painful sigh as he makes a sudden realisation.

"Honestly... If it wasn't for Doug, I don't know that I ever would have returned to Riverdale. I may not have _ever_ found out about Bailey if it wasn't for him..."

Jughead isn't the only one who is pained by this concept as his words bring a frown to the mother of his child's face. However, before Betty has a chance to say a word in response, Jughead continues speaking, letting her in on the self-deprecating outlook that he _really_ has, revealingly.

"... Then again, it's not like Bailey –or you- really need me, anyway. After all, who needs me on the scene when you've got Superman by your side, hey?"

Almost instantly, Betty narrows her emerald-green eyes at Jughead seriously. While his comment is sarcastic and his remark doesn't reveal just _how_ deeply affected he is by feeling as though Betty's boyfriend has taken his place and has filled his spot in their life, but it _does_ give the young blonde just a little glimpse into Jughead's insecurity.

"Superman? _Casey_ , you mean? Yes, he's my boyfriend and, yes, he's been there for both Bailey and I. But, she's only got one father. _You_ are Bailey's dad, okay? Absolutely _no one_ can change that or take that away from you."

It takes a while for Jughead to process the sincerity of her reassurances before he gives Betty a small smile of acknowledgement over the point that she's making.

Then, the two fade to silence until Betty's phone begins vibrating away madly from where it's rested on the bar. Spotting the contact, Betty quickly snatches it up. But, not before Jughead has a chance to catch sight of the caller ID. It's the same person he'd heard her talking to both last night and the night before, despite Betty's best efforts to keep her voice down, not realising _just_ how paper-thin the walls of his house are...

For Betty, the past few days have been a constant juggling act. While Casey has been as understanding as he can be, Betty knows that her boyfriend has been feeling on-edge over the fact that she is across the country with her ex-boyfriend and the father of her child. In fact, it had taken a lot of discussion and a lot of convincing for Casey to be willing to accept the circumstances that have pushed the two exes together. After all, even despite his empathy and kind offer to fly them over, Casey was honest in telling Betty that it had been challenging enough when the two of them were accompanied by Bailey and FP. But, now, knowing that it is just the two of them, all alone and halfway across the country, he was understandably a little unnerved.

Despite amount of effort it has involved in negotiating it, Betty wouldn't have it any other way; not with the grief that Jughead has been exposed to over the last few days and not when she knows what she does about his history with suicidal feelings, a detail that she can't explain to her current boyfriend.

Consequently, in balancing all her spinning plates, Betty has tried to ensure that she's quick to reply to Casey's messages and phone calls and she's tried to answer his long line of questions about their days together in her attempts to reassure her boyfriend while juggling him with being there for Jughead.

"Sorry. I've got to take this" she says to the man bearing the beanie, giving him an apologetic look as she gets up from her seat beside him at the bar, pressing her phone to ear before continuing to speak to her boyfriend this time, all in one breath.

"Hey babe... How are you?"

#

It's just a few minutes later when Betty ends the phone call and goes to return to Jughead. However, she is quick to note the differences between the same bar that she had left just minutes earlier, only making the amount of time that has elapsed seem a whole lot longer. After all, in that time, there's someone else who has taken her seat beside Jughead where she was, just a blink of an eye ago...

That person is a brunette girl who looks approximately the same age as her, a girl who Betty had noticed sitting just around the corner from them, drinking on her own. Suddenly, it's made abundantly clear that the girl wasn't looking over to their general direction and that she had something or _someone_ in view that entire time.

Pausing on the spot as she watches from across the room that she has just re-entered, Betty notices that Jughead has another drink in front of him, while there's also a fresh one in the young woman's hand also as the pair flirt up a storm jovially.

The girl giggles wildly in a manner which _just so happens_ to draw herself a little closer to Jughead, a hand on his chest to hold herself up through her laughter, closing the already small gap between them that little bit more.

Watching the sight before her, a frown settles on Betty's face as her stomach twists and churns from deep within her.

Betty reasons with herself that it's _because_ the behaviour that she's witnessing is so far from the man that she knows so well. She's never seen him like this, acting like just about every other guy in the world and looking like he's been practicing flirting casually all his life, rather than observing from the sidelines. She tells herself it's _because_ she's worried about the fact that he's grieving, acting so out-of-character for himself and that she would hate for him to make a decision that he would regret in his right mind.

So, watching from afar as the moment heats up _fast_ , Betty recalls a text that she'd received a little earlier as she pulls her phone out once again, choosing a certain contact before she holds her phone up to her ear, continuing to watch from across the room until a familiar voice answers the phone, pushing her to take action against Jughead's out-of-character behaviour.

"Hi mum. You said Bailey wanted to talk to us tonight. Is she there now? Is she free to FaceTime? I figured she's probably getting ready for bed soon..."

There's a few short moments of conversation between the mother and daughter before Betty waltzes across the room and approaches Jughead from behind, gently touching a hand to his shoulder to catch his attention.

"Sorry to interrupt" Betty begins with a sweet smile, before turning her attention to the beanie-clad man. "But, there's a little girl that wants to say goodnight to her daddy..."

#

After taking Betty's phone outside, when the image of their little three-year-old fills the screen just minutes later, two faces light up on the other side of it. Their joy is reciprocated as Bailey waves to her parents with great excitement as two, little, blonde piggy-tails wildly fly all over the place.

"My mummy! My daddy! You're in Nanna's phone! Wow!"

Jughead chuckles at Bailey's words. Despite the day he's had and despite the depth of the pain he's experiencing after losing one of his closest friends, seeing his little girl on the screen of Betty's phone soothes that pain just a little and helps him to forget just for a few minutes. While it doesn't _heal_ his grief and his guilt that he's still harbouring, Jughead can manage a genuine smile easily as she tells them all about her day. _He's so glad to see her_.

Meanwhile, Betty is overcome with emotion, forcing herself to hold back her tears and ignore the enormous lump in the back of her throat, purely from the sight of her daughter who forms her whole, entire world. As much as she knows she needs to be there for Jughead right now, it's killing Betty being so far from her baby. However, she does her best to conceal her separation anxiety as she puts on a brave face and smiles brightly for her daughter's sake.

"Hi baby! How are you?! Are you having lots of fun?"

"Yeah! I help'ded Nanna cooked dinner and Granddad take'd me bowling! I get to play with Grandpa and Hot Doggie when I wake up 'morrow!"

Even after the draining day that they have had, neither Jughead nor Betty can hide their smile as they listen to their daughter tell them all about anything and everything.

"It's so good to see you, Bailey-girl... I'm missing you so much. Daddy and I will be home soon, but I'm so glad you're having lots of fun. Are you being a good girl?"

During the FaceTime, Betty unintentionally monopolises the conversation, asking Bailey all the right questions to prompt the three-year-old to babble away, talking all about her day. But, it's not like Jughead minds in the slightest, hardly feeling like he can maintain the facade of being as bubbly as he should be talking to his three-year-old.

However, the tables turn as Bailey focuses on one of her parents more than the other for just a moment, raising an unexpected question, a little seriously.

"Juggie? Are you happy now?"

Everyone had done their best to shelter Bailey from the impact of the blow that Jughead has been experiencing. But, much like her parents, little Bailey is an observer like her father and she is deeply in tune to other's emotions like her mother. So, despite everyone's best efforts, the little girls knows far more is going on than what she understands.

However, as she poses the unexpected question to him, hearing his daughter's care and concern for him melts Jughead's heart completely, rendering him speechless. He doesn't want to lie to her, but he also doesn't want to let on about just how much he's hurting on the inside.

"I'm so happy to see _you_ , Bay" Jughead concludes, honestly, lighting Bailey's face up with joy.

Then, hearing the giggle from the girl on their screen, the two parents share a little glance and a proud smile with one another, both filled with a mutual love and awe for little girl that is equal parts _them_ , knowing that they each of them feels it, too.

After a few minutes, Alice interrupts the phone call between the young parents and their daughter, announcing that Bailey's bath is ready, signalling that bedtime for the little girl is fast approaching. So, with a thousand 'goodbyes', 'love yous', waves and blown kisses, the video call finally ends.

Putting her phone down with a deep heavy sigh, it becomes evident that the distance and separation from her daughter is taking a toll on Betty. So, after she's spent days focusing on helping him and being there for him, the tables turn for just a moment as Jughead lays a comforting hand on Betty's shoulder while they reflect on the difficulty of being so far away from their young daughter.

"It's so hard being so far away from her... I can't imagine how much harder it is for _you_ being apart from her."

Betty nods sadly. After all, for the last three-and-a-half years, the mother and daughter have been _inseparable_. It's been Betty and Bailey against the world...

"Honestly, Bailey's my best friend... I really love her company" Betty explains honestly, looking towards the father of her child with a bittersweet smile.

Then, even despite his own grief and his own declining emotional state from the toll on him as a result of the events of the last few days, Jughead still tries to give the conversation a more positive spin for Betty's sake. After all, he knows that she needs it.

"She leaves a pretty big hole in your heart, hey? We did make a pretty great little human, after all..."

With a nod, Betty exhales a painful sigh at the truth of his words.

"That we did, Jughead Jones. That we did..."

This time, it's his turn to sigh at the bittersweet turn that their conversation has taken. After all, during the few, short weeks that he has come to learn of his little girl's existence and slowly worked at developing a bond with his three-year-old, Jughead has _loved_ it. He's loved getting to know Bailey. He's loved seeing the bits of him and the bits of Betty in her. He's loved having the opportunity to be there for someone. It has been terrifying, humbling and exhilarating but Jughead has loved every moment of being a dad.

"I missed out on so much of her life, Betts... I know it's my own fault, but I don't know how I'm ever supposed to accept it. And, not only is it everything that _I_ missed out on, but it's everything that meant that both of you had to miss out on, too. You having to go it alone, not having my support and Bailey not having a dad for so many years."

Detailing all his regrets and the guilt that festers within him, Jughead curses himself under his breath, shamefully.

How could Betty and Bailey ever forgive him for not being there when he can't even forgive himself?

Almost as soon as his words flow from his lips, Jughead shakes his head at himself.

He can't let himself get back on that track. He can't let himself go back there. He can't let himself think like that.

He needs to do better. For Bailey, for Betty, for Doug...

Then, after a few moments of silence, a distraction comes in the form of a coincidental little detail of the last few minutes that suddenly becomes apparent to Jughead, something which he can gladly shift his focus to as a little smirk settles on his lips.

"So... Wasn't Bailey's timing of wanting to talk to us _incredible_? It's like she knew someone was chatting me up. You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that our little lady might have had some help from someone else..."

Jughead smirks, glancing over to her as he refers to the way that Betty had approached him and the girl who had been sitting near them who moved closer to him after Betty left. Even then, Jughead had an inkling that the convenient timing wasn't so coincidental when Betty waltzed over to them both, intentionally scaring the woman off as Betty spoke to Jughead about their daughter. The little blush on Betty's cheeks only seems to confirm that suspicion.

"Was someone a little bit jealous?" Jughead teases, only receiving an eye roll in response.

" _Okay_ , I admit, I may have got a message about Bailey wanting to talk to us a little earlier than that, but I figured the timing was good then... I could see what was happening and I was trying to do you a favour. You've been to a funeral today and I don't think that being picked up by a random girl in a bar is you, Jug. I just didn't want you to make a decision while you weren't in the best place that you'd go on to regret later."

"If you say so, Betts..."

Jughead isn't convinced and Betty can tell. So, she takes a deep breath of fresh air before her green eyes look to him a little more apprehensively.

"Look, if you still wanted to go back over and catch that girl's name after we called Bailey, I wouldn't have tried to stop you. I only want you to be happy, Juggie. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't you acting out of character at the end of an awful day... But, lets back inside now. I think that you owe me another drink for even making such an insinuation" Betty teases, sending him a smile.

* * *

 **Now, sorry for the incorrect 'next chapter' on the last chapter. Originally this chapter and the next were one long one but I realised it was going to be absolutely enormous and I wouldn't have been able to proofread and get the entire thing up for another few days. So, I hope you don't mind that I've split it for two usual-length chapters to be able to get this half up sooner with the rest coming very soon, too. The stuff about Jughead being held accountable will be in that chapter. Also, because of the chapter split, the tumblr preview will now be going up before the next chapter does so keep an eye out. I'm riverheadcf on there.**

 **Also, I hope you liked this chapter... There was a lot of drinking, a lot of comforting, a lot of talking and a dash of jealousy thrown in there for good measure. But, after farewelling Doug, it was just the distraction Jughead needed and likewise for Betty who's missing Bailey. I'd love to know your thoughts on the chapter.**

 **Big thank you to Marie King, hopelessromantic618, Guest and violet1429 for your reviews on the last chapter!**

 **Next chapter: Jughead and Betty's night out part two! The two of them draw closer and closer as they work through some tough truths. **


	28. Loose Lips

**CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT – Loose Lips**

After Doug's funeral, Betty and Jughead had wandered down to his local pub in Oklahoma. They'd gone there with the objective of forgetting. However, the outing had proven to have quite the opposite effect with their loose lips speaking of everything that both of them have kept sealed up for the greater or lesser part of four years as they drink the night away.

However, despite all the talking that they've done over the course of the night, they are currently in the middle of a long, yet comfortable, silence as Betty watches Jughead intently from the bar-stool beside him. She picks up her fresh drink that had been placed down in front of her a few minutes earlier, twirling her beverage within the glass, before she looks back to him and breaks the extended silence by raising the question that's been on the back of her mind for the last few days.

"Jug?"

As he looks over to her with a nod, Betty pauses and takes a deep breath before she continues to speak. She's struggling to muster up the courage to raise the question on her mind. After all, she's not too sure that she _wants_ to hear the answer and face the potential can of worms it may unleash...

"Before Bailey saw you out the front of _Pop's_ , you were going to leave again, weren't you? You weren't going to say goodbye."

Jughead swallows, gulping at the answer to Betty's question before he looks away with a guilty sigh. After all, Jughead knows that the truth will end his one and only chance that he had been given to be involved in his daughter's life. He can't do that, not willingly, so he remains silent.

At seeing his reaction, the look on his face, his refusal to reply and the simple fact that she can read him like a book, Betty too exhales a heavy sigh as she looks away from him. After all, she knows the truth without him saying a _single_ word.

"I thought so. It reminded me of the night you left... I'll never forget the look on your face when you turned around and left all those years ago; I thought that was the last time I was ever going to see you... Then, when Bailey caught up to you out the front of _Pop's_ , I could see it, Jug. I could see you had the same look on your face as when Fred told you that your dad had been arrested, when your flight-mode kicked in and when you ran away from Homecoming that night."

It's over... She knows him too well and they have far too much history.

So, Jughead sighs in defeat as his head falls into hands upon facing the blow of realisation over just how greatly he has screwed up, affecting not only him, but also his three-year-old.

"I've blown it... I had one chance and I stuffed it up monumentally. So what now, then?"

He's doing all he can to keep it together, to sound brash rather than broken. After all, he is _terrified_ of Betty's answer. He is terrified of what comes next. He is terrified of the prospect of losing out on anymore of his daughter's life. But, once again, he's got no-one to blame but himself. It's all his own damn fault. Betty had given him one condition, one rule, and he'd broken it.

As much as he is trying to hold it together and keep his crumbling internal, Jughead cannot stop the words that fall through his lips as he remembers one discussion and one pinkie-promise of just a few weeks ago, unable to control the three, little words that slip through his lips.

"I promised her..."

Even in three, simple words, Betty can hear Jughead's voice crack weakly, breaking, as his emotion flows into his words. Then, as he looks to her earnestly, his pleading blue eyes are filled with fear; he's at Betty's mercy.

"If I've screwed this up, Betty, if my mistakes are the reason that Bailey won't have a dad in her life, can I say goodbye to her, at least? Can I please tell her how sorry I am? _Please._ I want her to know that it's _my_ fault that I have to leave her life, not hers. She shouldn't have to be punished for my mistakes. Please, Betty... I want her to know that I love her."

Looking to the man beside her, Betty exhales a heavy sigh as she runs her hands through her blonde hair which she had kept down for the funeral. Then, for the longest time, the two of them sit in complete silence.

Jughead's eyes are closed, with his head in his hands. He's punishing himself, ridiculing himself and loading the entirety of blame onto himself as he faces the consequences of his hasty decision that he'd made after a phone-call which sent his world spinning, suddenly realising everything that he now stands to lose.

He had broken a promise...

Well, actually, he had broken _two._

After all, Jughead had sat on the floor of Bailey's bedroom, promising Betty that he'd never repeat his biggest mistake, assuring her that he'd never leave either of them ever again after she extended the one-and-only opportunity to him to have a part in their daughter's life. Then, just a few short weeks later, he had crouched down beside his little girl, he had looked her in the eye and he had promised her that no matter what, he would always be there for her and that he'd always come back to her.

Meanwhile, finding herself at a life-changing crossroads, Betty is forced to envision the awful alternatives of reality she has to choose between, all of which will break her daughter's heart...

She imagines having to rip Bailey away from her father, now that she finally has him in her life... She imagines being forced to break the bond between father and daughter that Betty has watched develop and blossom over the last few weeks... She imagines Bailey having to lose what she has only just gained... She imagines the pain that it would undoubtedly bring to the little girl who Betty lives to protect... And, she imagines Jughead breaking his promise to them both, again...

Eventually, as she looks to the man beside her, seeing little more than his beanie from where his head is buried in his hands, Betty begins to speak up as her own voice quakes. Her voice after so much silence brings his eyes upward as he looks to her fearfully.

Then, as the epitome of empathy, Betty Cooper is overruled by her natural inclination to see the best in people, one of the things that people love about her, but also her greatest downfall and her Achilles heel.

"Honestly, Jughead, I don't know what the best thing to do is... _I'm_ still learning how to be a be a mum and a good parent, too... But, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt this **one** time. I know that you'd just heard about Doug and I know you would have been grieving and not exactly thinking straight. Besides, seeing as it didn't get to that point, it's impossible to know what you would have done and whether you would have followed through with leaving or if you would have given it a second thought and stopped yourself if Bailey _didn't_ see you... And, I also know how badly it would hurt our daughter if she lost you."

It takes a moment for Betty's words to sink in. Then, all of a sudden, an overwhelming surge of relief floods through Jughead. He is just about moved to tears and he wants to throw his arms around her in gratitude. However, before he has a chance to do or say anything and before he has the opportunity to thank Betty profusely, she stiffens uncomfortably and her expression grows serious as she continues to speak.

"But, I swear that it is no empty threat when I say that if you give me absolutely any reason to doubt you, if you give me any reason to believe that you're going to hurt Bailey or if you give me any reason to believe that you're going to leave again, you are out our life, okay? _No_ second chances. _No_ forgiveness. _No_ benefit of the doubt. _No_ nothing... I mean it. You're on thin ice, Jughead, and I'm only bending the rules because I think that the alternative would hurt Bailey more right now and absolutely _everything_ I do is to protect Bailey. But, like I said, if you hurt our daughter or if you give me any reason to believe that she will end up hurt, then that's it. You will never, ever see Bailey again."

Jughead nods affirmatively in acceptance of the high stakes that Betty is outlining. Honestly, he's still overwhelmed with gratitude over her empathy and the fact that she _hadn't_ already cut him out of their daughter's life after he had been set to leave Riverdale. After all, he'd made a bad decision in a moment of extreme vulnerability, but he was immensely grateful for the empathy of Bailey's mother when he had only failed them once again. Consequently, Jughead would accept whatever conditions she'd put to him and he'd jump through as many hoops as he needed to in order to keep his place in his little girl's life.

After Jughead thanks Betty for the umpteenth time, she simply nods a little hesitantly, still not one hundred percent in whether or not she has made the best decision by Bailey. She is still learning too, after all, and only time would tell as to whether or not Jughead would prove himself to be worthy of her extension of trust in their daughter's life.

Then, cutting him off mid-thank you, Betty looks to him seriously, raising another question that has been on her mind regarding her suspicions that had been confirmed over the fact that he had been set to leave Riverdale without a goodbye, again.

"What changed, Jughead? You called me that and you asked to meet me at _Pop's_ ; I assume to tell me about Doug. But, you were turning around and leaving again when Bailey saw you... So, what changed?"

Looking to her, his guilty blue eyes meet pained green until he flinches from her glance that breaks his heart, exhaling a deep, regretful sigh. He can't lie to her. Not only would she be able to see straight through him and read the truth in him like a book anyway, but he also can't bring himself to lie to her when she's being so merciful towards him, extending the second chance that he doesn't deserve to him.

"What changed? Well, I realised that you and Bailey don't need me... _That's_ what changed. I saw the two of you with Casey at _Pop's_. I realised that the three of you are a family and that my spot was filled. You and Bailey don't need me."

Betty keeps her eyes fixed on him intently, noting his vulnerability that has followed his confession. Then, it's her turn to sigh.

"Let me make one thing crystal clear to you, Jughead Jones. Casey is my boyfriend, but he is not Bailey's father... He never will be. _You_ are Bailey's father... You always will be. She is _our_ child. So, as long as you do not do anything to hurt our child in any way, shape or form, you are always allowed to be Bailey's father; that's your spot. The only person that will stop you from being in Bailey's life is you. Okay? If you do the right thing by Bailey then it's not about Casey and it's not about anyone else. As long as you want that spot in Bailey's life and as long as you do what you need to keep that spot in her life, it's _yours_. Don't ever let yourself or anyone else force you into thinking otherwise, okay?"

Jughead looks at her as they share an intense exchange in the silence, before she relays her reassurances to him once again, clapping her hand onto his from where his arm is slouched on the bar they're sitting at. In reciprocation of her gesture, Jughead gives a small smile, before he shakes his head as he speaks up.

"Honestly, I don't for the life of me know how you haven't given up on me yet, Betty Cooper..."

After a moment of silence, Betty exhales a little chuckle although his remark is far from funny.

"I think that always has been one of my biggest weaknesses... Even after you left, I spent so long waiting for you. I spent so much longer than I should have putting my faith in the tiny, tiny chance that you'd come back" Betty explains before she pauses, exhaling a heavy sigh as she glances at him before continuing to speak.

"Honestly, you don't know how much I wanted you to come back. You don't know how much I wanted you to be here, if not for me, for Bailey... You don't know how badly I wanted you to be our baby girl's dad, Juggie, how long I spent hoping for that..."

As she looks to him, seeing her pained emerald eyes kills him as she exhales another anguished sigh. Jughead can see the raw emotion behind her words and he's not quite sure how much more he can take as she continues to speak.

"I _know_ that you can be the dad that you want to be for her, Jug, the dad that I know you're scared of falling short of being... _Because_ , I've always known you can do it."

From the bar-stool beside him, Jughead notes that Betty's eyes appear to be growing glassy. He's not sure of it, but it just appears that they may be as he sees the slight glint of moisture in the low lighting of the room. However, Jughead doesn't say a word about it as Betty's just takes another much-needed sip of her drink. Then, her lips proceed to keep moving, volunteering more and more information. However, seeing as they have moved onto scotch, it's hardly surprising, with the two events more than likely connected.

"You know what's stupid?" Betty doesn't wait for answer from the man beside her before she continues to speak. "You said something a couple of days before you left that would just keep replaying over and over again in my mind once you were gone... I just couldn't forget it."

Jughead's face grows more serious and inquisitive at her cryptic comment. Then, just catching a glimpse of the way that he is looking at her is enough to encourage Betty to continue speaking, answering the question that he hasn't had a chance to ask her about just yet.

"It was the day before you left, if I remember right. It was when I was setting up and coordinating things for homecoming and my mum had just invited you and your dad over for dinner before the dance... I remember you said how you were a little scared and nervous about it, but you thought it was good for our families to get to know each other... You said how important and good 'for us' it was. _Oh_ , and your smile... Those words and the look on your face when you were talking to me just played over and over again in my mind after you left. At that time and when so much was scary and confusing, it felt like it gave me the faith and confidence that regardless of wherever you went and why, you were going to come back for us. It gave me so much hope when I needed it more than ever..."

Jughead exhales a guilt-ridden sigh, knowing the other side of the story and knowing what transpired after homecoming, knowing that he had failed her and that he _didn't_ come back; at least not until over four years later.

Meanwhile, Betty is struggling as she gets four years of pain off of her chest. There is still so much hurt and she can still feel the scars. In fact, just the mention of the events of four years ago is enough to take her back and is enough to make it feel like she's relieving it all over again. So, she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for just a moment, in an attempt to calm herself from her raw, built up emotions that have coming flowing out tonight.

Then Betty has a sudden little change of mood, releasing a little chuckle upon remembering an ironic fact that is anything but funny before she continues to speak, with their conversation quickly becoming a soliloquy.

" _Ugh_ , that dinner... It's crazy to think I was already pregnant during that awful, awful dinner. You know... Just in case the Coopers and Joneses couldn't get any more complicated, lets meld the two together, right?"

Listening to Betty's words elicits another pained and guilt-ridden sigh from Jughead. Just as she is reminiscing about the past, he too can't stop his mind from wandering back to the idea that if only they _had_ known... If only they had already known that they expectant parents _before_ that night...

After all, Jughead would have made a very different set of decisions that night if he had known that the girl in the beautiful silver dress who he left, standing there, heartbroken, on the steps of Riverdale High School was carrying his baby.

... But, _he didn't_.

Instead, the lives of Jughead, Betty and the daughter that they share had taken a very different path over the last four years.

Betty jolts Jughead from his thoughts with the words that don't make him feel any better whatsoever. She's unaware of the fact of just how much he's already bashing himself over the head with the 'what ifs' of their past. However, Betty's lips are certainly loose and her typical, meticulous filter is nowhere to be seen as words slide from her ruby-red lips without a second thought...

Maybe it's the closure that comes from finally having the opportunity to speak of and debrief over her last four years that have been filled with grief and pain...

Maybe it's the fact that she's three-and-a-half strong drinks into the night...

Or, maybe, it's the tiny, little part of Betty that has _always_ wanted to speak the words that follow her deep breath as she looks to man beside her, her eyes boring into his as she exhales her raspy breath that tells of her pain within.

Whatever the reason is, Betty proceeds to speak up to the father of her child so earnestly and so honestly, saying the words that she's never said aloud; the words that she has barely even admitted to herself...

"Honestly, I thought we were going to end up together, Juggie. Even after you left, I spent so long waiting for you to come back, to come home, to be with us, and to make everything right... Because, I always thought it was going to be _us_."

For the longest time, they just sit there, as her emerald green eyes study his sparkling, baby-blues in a silent exchange.

It's not awkward, it's not uncomfortable, but there is _so_ much that goes unsaid...

There's so much that neither Betty nor Jughead can find the words to say. But, they _feel_ it... He feels her scars over her misplaced hope; her heartbreak over believing that they were inevitable, that they would end up together, that they were _soul mates_. Meanwhile, Betty feels the painful words that he doesn't speak, reflecting on just how different their life could have been with even just a slightly different turn of events or timeline all those years ago...

Then, maybe it's Jughead's liquid courage kicking in, taking over the conscientious objector who'd rather sit back and stay silent...

Maybe it's inspired of Betty's affirmations; reassuring him of his place in their daughter's life that no-one else can take from him...

Maybe it's the result of the last few days, bringing an epiphany upon the young man...

Or, maybe Doug's death has forced Jughead to realise just how short life is, reflect on life in the face of death and realise how valuable and precious time is, making him reflect on all the time that he lost with both Doug and Bailey...

Regardless of whatever the reason is and regardless of wherever the reason has come from, it makes Jughead takes a deep breath and use every ounce of courage to speak up, as he studies the woman sitting beside him -the person he knows better than anyone else in the world- as he speaks the words that she has waited four years to hear.

"It still _can_ be us, Betts... Us and Bailey... We can be a family. We can make everything right. _I_ can make everything right."

The time that passes could be one minute or it could be an hour and a half... Either way, it feels like an eternity as Betty's eyes stay dilated, her mouth fallen open as she tries to process the words the words that she can't believe she's hearing.

She's caught up in the moment. It takes time for her to separate her dreams from reality upon finally hearing those words, all that she has ever wished for, _aloud_ for the first time. After all, her first love, the father of her child, is offering her everything she has always wanted for so, _so_ long...

Then, regardless of whatever reason why Jughead found the courage to say those words initially, it is most _definitely_ the liquid courage of his steady series of drinks over the night that kicks in next...

For the first time in over four years, Jughead finds himself falling into the past habit that feels so right and so wonderfully familiar despite all the time that has passed. Slowly, ever so slowly, he zeroes in on the plump, ruby-red lips of the woman sitting beside him that he _knows_ from experience taste as good as they look, his head swooping closer and closer towards hers.

Meanwhile, Betty tries to keep up with the last few, momentous moments, reaching the crescendo as full, familiar lips draw closer and closer to hers.

After all, lips aren't the _only_ thing that have been drawing closer and closer between Jughead and Betty over the course of the evening...

* * *

 **What a mean spot to end it on, hey? Seeing as it was a bit of a part one/part two discussion, I didn't want to leave it too long between updates. But, suddenly Bughead is flying in leaps and bounds. But, how far will it go? Will they kiss? Will it go further? And where to from here? Will she end things with Casey or will the fear of being hurt get to her again?**

 **I hope you liked the chapter anyway. Jughead and Betty really needed that time to talk, to deal with the fact that he almost left again, to reaffirm his place in Bailey's life, to deal with the past, to acknowledge the 'what ifs' and to open up that little bit more... I'd love to know what you all think of the chapter and their discussion!**

 **Big thank you to everyone who left feedback on the last chapter. You guys motivate me immensely, thank you.**

 **Next chapter: Jughead and Betty face the aftermath of their night out before returning to Riverdale.**


	29. Reunions

**CHAPTER TWENTY NINE – Reunions**

As Jughead's slowly moves closer and closer towards Betty, narrowing in on her lips, she doesn't fight it. She doesn't fight the gravitational pull towards him and she doesn't fight the way her eyes naturally flutter closed. In fact, it's only as she feels the sensation of his warm, intoxicated breath nearing her, with the sensation prickling her skin when her eyes fly open, _just_ before his parting lips are about to gently brush against hers.

"Juggie..." she sighs.

Instead of the natural pull and desire to draw their lips closer together, Betty's word has the adverse effect on both herself and Jughead, with their lips pulling further away rather than closer together.

However, like fighting a magnetic attraction, their distancing is gradual and forced, resisting the natural pull.

Even though it was their lips that had come so close, their foreheads are the parts that finally connect and touch in the intimate moment. Then, although their lips hadn't shared a single kiss, they're both breathless, rasping for air as they look one another deeply in the eyes, working up the strength to pull apart, but not managing to be torn apart or ripped away so easily.

Then, as they slowly back away and pull apart, the panic is written on Jughead's face. His declaration and near-kiss had taken all his courage, even after a few drinks. And, suddenly, the rose-coloured glasses have been ripped off, panicking Jughead as he's left with the debris of his grief-stricken, alcohol-driven actions.

Meanwhile, sitting beside him, Betty's emerald green eyes are wide and glassy when she exhales a deep, heavy breath, not taking her eyes off of him as she utters the words that follow in little more than a whisper.

"Juggie, I can't... _Casey_."

#

With just two days between the night they went out drinking and their flights home, Jughead spent the time busily, preparing to move back to his hometown of Riverdale, the home of his daughter.

Over his last four years, Jughead had accumulated very few personal belongings and he had laid very few roots in Oklahoma. In fact, the only real roots that Jughead had planted were in a friendship with someone who too had returned to the ground a little over a day ago.

So, in tying up his loose ends in Oklahoma, Jughead resigned from his job at the paper and prepared the home he had shared with Doug to be sold. Although it had been his home for the last four years, Jughead tells himself that it's what Doug would want. After all, Doug had told him all about how after his wife had died, after he too had despair so deep that he couldn't see a way through it, he had sold the house he'd shared with his wife of nearly forty years to just start afresh. Additionally, Doug been an advocate for Jughead being with his three-year-old daughter in Riverdale, even at the great cost to himself personally, putting Bailey having a father above the importance of him having someone to be there for him in his final moments and in his dying days.

So, Jughead did his best to go through the limited personal belongings in the home, before commissioning it to be put on the market and sold.

He didn't care how much he stood to gain, he didn't care what more he could have done to increase his profit by and the salability of the house, he simply cared about a quick sale and returning to Riverdale. After all, it didn't really feel right to be receiving _any_ money that never should have been his in the first place.

Meanwhile, Betty helped Jughead where she could with what he needed to do to pack up his life in Oklahoma. She did her best at finding the balance in trying to keep her distance, while also keeping an eye out on him. After all, while things have grown uncomfortable since their near-kiss on the night of the funeral, Betty didn't want to push Jughead away completely, knowing his vulnerability at present. She didn't want to isolate him or push him any closer to the edge, balancing that with not giving him any wrong impressions.

Finally, just days after the funeral, Jughead's loose ends were tied up and the two parents were on the plane home back to Riverdale, back to their beautiful little girl.

#

Betty has glanced over to Jughead far more times than she'd care to admit, toying with the idea of talking or not when she finally bites the bullet and speaks up as conversationally as she can, hoping to make the awkward silence between them a little more comfortable for the long flight home.

"So, I spoke to Bailey this morning... I can't believe I was worried how she'd go with our parents. Honestly, it sounds like she's having so much fun that I'm not too sure if she _wants_ us to come home yet."

Betty's words bring the smallest of smiles to the corner of Jughead's lips, just at the mention of their little girl.

"Damn, I miss her..." Jughead simply states in response as Betty nods wordlessly, sharing his sentiment which both parents are feeling at the separation from their three-year-old.

After this, the silence returns and both Betty and Jughead return to their previous timewasters that they'd been occupied with during the flight. Jughead's re-reading his well-worn copy of George Orwell's _Nineteen-Eighty-Four_ , while Betty had been trying with a Jodi Picoult but settled for flicking through a magazine she'd picked up just before boarding instead.

A few minutes after Betty's remark about Bailey, Jughead had tried to return the favour and make the silence a little less uncomfortable. Showing Betty the book he is reading, Jughead had reminisced about how way off Archie's remarks about that very novel had been when they'd studied it as a class, before it had been realised that he'd been reading the wrong book _entirely_. After all, when he went into the library with the brief of 'I need the popular book with a number in the title', he had walked out with a copy of _Fifty Shades of Grey_ , instead... Betty chuckles, biting her lip over the memory.

Another few minutes of silence pass after that before Betty takes a turn at extending another olive branch. This time, she shows Jughead a page of the magazine that she's reading, pointing to an ad for a skincare product with the ad picturing a heavily pregnant woman performing a gentle yoga position. The picture is intended to look ethereal and heavenly, but Betty just chuckles as she points the ad out to Jughead.

"I think this is the _furthest_ thing from a realistic pregnancy. 'Glowing' is just sweat, _even_ in Riverdale where we apparently don't have seasons other than winter."

The raven-haired-man looks between the woman sitting beside him and the ad on the glossy page with a curious look.

"Oh yeah...? What _was_ pregnancy like?" Jughead asks, enquiring about the nine months of Betty's life that resulted in their daughter.

"My pregnancy? Mm, let's just say that it's more affectionately known as 'the-nine-months-of-my-life-I'm-trying-to-erase-from-memory-if-there's-any-chance-of-Bailey-getting-a-sibling-from-me'. Good, good times..."

Jughead winces initially before her words strike him as he reads into what she has just said, taking her words in a way that she hadn't meant it. Hesitantly, Jughead raises another question as his interest strays from his initial query a little.

"Oh... _Is_ a sibling for Bailey on the cards?"

Growing a little uncomfortable from his question, Betty's green eyes grow wider before she glances away, looking away from where his intense eye contact is fixed on her intently.

In the time it takes for Betty to answer, Jughead's stomach plummets, growing fearful of her answer to his question. In the silence, his guilt at attempting to kiss her a couple of nights earlier is only reinforced at his realisation of the seriousness of her new relationship.

"Um... Not in an ' _I'm pregnant_ ' kind of way, but a baby is something that Casey and I have spoken about... It's not like we're trying and we don't even have a time-frame, but we have briefly discussed the fact that he wants kids and I wouldn't mind having another."

In that moment, it's hard to tell who feels more uncomfortable.

The feeling that follows reminds Jughead remarkably of being winded, like he's been punched in the gut and the air has been swept out of him unexpectedly. Nodding slowly while trying to show as little emotion on his face as possible, Jughead just exhales a soft, croaky: " _Wow..."_

Meanwhile, it feels all kinds of wrong for Betty to be answering her exes self-inflicted uncomfortable questions and divulging information about her plans for the future with her new boyfriend to him.

So, trying to rectify the uncomfortable path that the conversation has taken, Betty desperately tries to back-pedal, returning to his initial question before it had taken the awkward diversion.

"So what did you ask anyway? What was my pregnancy like? Rough. Honestly, I don't know where feeling sick from having my heart broken stopped and feeling sick from being pregnant started."

As Betty babbles on honestly, focused on trying to divert the conversation elsewhere from the uncomfortable turn it had taken, it's only when she sees the guilt-ridden cringe on Jughead's face when she realises that it hasn't really helped matters whatsoever. After all, with a frown, Jughead knows all too well that he has to shoulder blame for _both_ factors that are very much his fault.

However, seeing the look on Jughead's face, she knows she has put her foot in it so Betty takes a little step back and expands on her initial remark.

"Don't feel too bad about it, though. I mean there were a couple of other complications, but fortunately the bulk of the morning sickness only lasted a couple of gnarly weeks."

With her further explanation, concern has overruled the look on Jughead's face, taking over from his guilt.

" _Really_? What complications?"

"I lost a lot of weight really early on in the pregnancy... After you left, I spent about a month not wanting to touch food, then by the time I realised I was pregnant, whatever I did eat didn't stay down. The doctors had to monitor everything closely and it was pretty scary for a while there. I had to be hospitalised after a couple of scares thoughout my pregnancy, too. Then, although it was still awful, thankfully labour went as smoothly as it could."

Jughead exhales a heavy sigh as he listens to Betty reminisce. Even without her saying a thing about it and without him knowing anymore details, Jughead can almost conclusively tell that her issues throughout her pregnancy had been stress-related, and he knows that _he_ was the reason for that stress. So, thanks to the stress induced by him and his poor decisions, it had put not only Betty, but also their daughter, in danger.

Looking to the seat beside her, Betty watches Jughead, sensing his guilt. So, she continues speaking, trying to lessen the blow that had unintentionally been made on him.

"But, it wasn't _all_ bad, Jug... I mean, I really loved being able to feel her moving, though. That was something special. Not to mention, the end result of it all was a little someone who is pretty amazing."

Despite her effort otherwise, it isn't enough to diminish Jughead's self-inflicted guilt as he looks to her sheepishly with his apologetic words. He's learning the very definition of ' _don't ask a question if you're not ready to hear the answer_ '.

Continuing in her attempts to try and put him at ease, Betty volunteers a little more light-hearted information for his sake.

"Another upside was that I think I watched more TV during my pregnancy than I ever have before in my life... Honestly, I spent my every waking moment for nine months living off of _Gilmore Girls_ when I wasn't at school or doing homework. Seriously, we came very close to having a 'Rory' instead of a 'Bailey' because of that. But, I don't know, I guess I felt like I was preparing for what I thought was going to be my future..."

The distraction seems to work for a moment as a smile curls on the corner of Jughead's lips as he is shown a little more of the life that he had left Betty in, learning more about the subsequent months of her life after he had left. However, it's not enough to remove the weight of his building guilt as he eventually releases a heavy sigh before speaking up.

"I'm sorry, Betty... I'm sorry I wasn't there to care for you. I'm sorry that everything I inflicted on you made you so stressed. I feel terrible that I put both you and Bailey at risk."

Betty just gives him a sad smile. She appreciates his apology, but they both know that it's impossible to go back and change the past. No matter how sorry he is, it won't change the fact that she was alone through the months that she carried their daughter who she'd been forced to raise as a single-mum and it won't change the fact that what he'd falsely believed was 'best' for her had only resulted in a devastating situation.

However, she still appreciates his apology and she _knows_ that he would go back and change things if he could.

The conversation that dwindled to heartbreak slowly brings a silence between them. However, the discussion stays close to mind for Jughead as he thinks over everything she's just told him, still riddled with guilt. Then, after his mind had returned to the uncomfortable conversation that resulted in him hearing about just how serious she and Casey are, learning their plans for the future, Jughead's gaze returns to her as he speaks up softly.

"Betts? I don't want to screw things up for you with Casey. You deserve a good guy and you deserve to be happy. I don't want to screw that up for you."

Betty looks at her daughter's father a little strangely before he inhales a deep breath and continues speaking, explaining further. Mere nights ago, he was declaring that _they_ could be together...

"Look, when we get back, I'm going to tell Casey about the other night. Even though nothing happened, I'll tell him it that it was completely my fault and it was just one-sided. I'll make sure I tell him you pulled back. I just don't want you to have to keep a secret from him that was completely my doing."

He's right... It _was_ Jughead's doing. He had been grieving, their discussion had gotten deep and he was the one who initiated their near-kiss.

He's right... She _did_ pull back.

But, he's wrong... It _wasn't_ just one-sided.

As much as Betty has tried to convince herself otherwise, she cannot ignore the fact that deep within, there was reciprocation on a deeper, emotional level as they talked about the past, about their daughter who they share as the mood slowly grew deeper.

Then, as much as she's tried to tell herself otherwise, there was a part of Betty that had to force herself to stop what had nearly come to be. There was a part of her that had forced that answer and that loyalty to her boyfriend as she felt the gentle brush of another pair of familiar lips coming so close to hers for the first time in so long.

Betty doesn't know what to say to that, so she just says one, simple word.

" _Thanks_."

However, there's an air of resignation. Unlike his declaration just days ago, professing that he would be there for her, for their daughter and they could be the family that they were supposed to be, he's resigning himself for her sake, for the life that she's made for herself with the man who isn't him. And, she resigns herself to the fact that he's resigning himself, giving up the fight...

#

Seeing as Casey was due to arrive home from his work trip in Seattle an hour and a half earlier than Jughead and Betty's plane from Oklahoma landed, he had coordinated it with Betty for them to meet up. Casey told her he'd just hang around the airport and wait for the two of them to join him in order for them to be able to travel back from the airport together, with quite a drive between the small town and the nearest airport.

As the exes walk through the terminal together in silence, Jughead trails a little behind Betty as she blazes on ahead with her focus firmly fixed on locating someone in particular, looking for a face in the crowd once they've collected their baggage from the trip.

Catching sight of the man in his early thirties who is standing idly on the other side of the vast whiteness of the airport, Betty picks up her pace and rushes over to him.

Meanwhile, as he trails further behind his ex, Jughead doesn't alter his pace at all, just trying to force himself to look away upon seeing the other man's face light up as he throws his arms out and open towards Betty who rushes into them without hesitation.

The scene leaves Jughead desperately trying to look away from their public embrace as their bodies aren't the only thing that connect. Because, unlike the last time that Betty's lips had approach someone else's -namely _his_ \- there's no 'nearly' and there's no 'almost' as the couple lock lips passionately in the middle of the airport after the days spent apart.

By the time that the couple have pulled away, Jughead is just approaching them from where he'd been trailing behind. He approaches them just as Casey is pulling a box out from behind his back, revealing a box of six or so doughnuts which he hands to his girlfriend as her face lights up at the gesture before her lips quickly return to his.

When they pull away once again, Casey is still beaming radiantly as he greets Jughead, just receiving eye contact and a little grunt of acknowledgement from the raven-haired-man. Then, after they stand there for a few seconds, Casey offers out a box similar to Betty's towards Jughead, a little less comfortably than he had done so with Betty.

"I thought you and Bailey could share some together, too, Jughead..." Casey begins before making light after Betty's reaction to the similar gift.

"And don't worry, a thank-you kiss isn't necessary."

#

Upon reaching her childhood home, the car has barely been brought to a standstill before Betty is racing out of the car and then up the steps. She doesn't even bother knocking, just opening the front door of her parents home to race through and find her daughter as fast as possible.

Hearing the joyful voice of a certain little girl, Betty flies through the home to reach the dining room where her mother is carefully supervising Bailey as she plays with play-doh on the dining table. Meanwhile, the two men who are accompanying Betty trail behind a little more slowly before reaching the same destination as she does, right in time to catch the reunion between mother and daughter as she rushes over to her three-year-old, swooping her up lovingly.

"Oh, my baby..." Betty exclaims with a shaky voice, failing to hold back the moist tears that begin to flood her cheeks. The young mum holds her daughter in her arms, holding her close and tight, peppering kisses all over her cheeks and hair while Betty holds Bailey in her arms.

Bailey returns her mum's hug with her little arms locked around Betty's neck, squeezing her with as much force as her little body can manage.

Then, fighting back a sniffle, Betty whispers into Bailey's ear as she strokes her hair, holding her close.

"Were you a good girl? Did you have lots and lots of fun? I missed you so much, Bailey-girl. Mummy loves you so, so much..."

As Betty holds Bailey in her arms, almost refusing to let go, the two whisper back and forth to each other in a quiet exchange. This lasts until Betty remembers the boys who are watching on, with Jughead waiting in the uncomfortable silence as her mother makes animated discussion with Casey.

Then, with a final kiss to the top of her golden locks, Betty places Bailey down on the ground as she goes to initiate the next greeting in the reunion.

"Daddy! Casey! You're back!" Bailey exclaims with a squeal of excitement.

Then, in the moment before Bailey races over to her father, Casey takes a small step back, knowing his place and knowing that Jughead pulls rank over him in the race for the affections of the same little girl.

So, Bailey races into her father's arms as he crouches down in front of her while the two share a long, lasting hug too, just like Betty had as she held the same little girl just moments earlier. Jughead relishes in the feeling -the peace- that comes with holding his little girl in his arms as she hugs him back lovingly.

Standing back and watching the moment before her, Betty can't help the flutter in her stomach and the swell in her heart as she watches her daughter's reunion with her father.

Then, all too soon, the hug ends as Bailey races towards the final man in the line, showing just as much excitement at seeing her mother's boyfriend, the same man who has just observed the coy smile and the warmth on his girlfriend's face as she watched the moment between Jughead and Bailey...

"Casey!" Bailey grins, throwing her arms around the blonde man's neck.

As he asks her a handful of questions, the three-year-olds parents share a silent glance from either side of the room as they watch their daughter who they have both just been reunited with.

However, Betty is filled with guilt at knowing she came very, very close to kissing a man in that room just a few days earlier, the man is _not_ her boyfriend who is currently hugging her daughter. Jughead too is guilt-ridden and still in disbelief that he'd tried to initiate a near-kiss that would have been unfaithful to the man who deserves it the least.

So, standing there, both Betty and Jughead feel the weight of what they are hiding, what they had felt and what they continue to conceal over what had almost happened that night in Oklahoma...

#

After collecting Bailey from the Coopers, the trio had stayed around for the uncomfortable coffee and chat that Alice had insisted on.

Then, after dropping Jughead off at FP's trailer on the way, Casey took Betty and Bailey home, staying for dinner until finally the couple have a little alone time once Betty finally put her three-year-old to sleep.

This brings the two of them to settle on the lounge where they are entangled and cuddled up to one another. Betty is curled up against Casey's chest with him running his hands through her loose, blonde locks as they snuggle together, each holding a glass of red wine.

Nestling her head into his chest, Betty inhales a huge, deep breath as she slowly manoeuvres herself up in order to lean against him as she looks him in the eye. In the silence, Betty's guilt has been suffocating her to the point that she can't contain the truth any longer. She knows that Jughead had mentioned that he would say something to her boyfriend regarding the fact that he had tried to initiate their almost-kiss while they were away, but a guilty conscious over what she's holding back gets to Betty and she can't wait for him to find out through Jughead.

"Case? There's something you need to know."

She doesn't know what he's going to say and she doesn't know how he's going to react. All that Betty knows is that her boyfriend needs to know...

However, the timing is almost comical as Casey's phone begins vibrating madly from where it's been placed on the arm of Betty's lounge that the two of them are snuggled up on together.

"It's your mum..." Casey remarks, shooting her a looks as his face scrunches up with confusion before Betty checks her own phone, noting that she definitely has no missed calls and no messages and certainly no attempts to be contacted by her mother.

It's almost as though Alice Cooper _knows_ that her daughter is about to admit to the very thing that could threaten her relationship with her boyfriend, the man that Alice has made no secret of adoring. In fact, Betty wouldn't put it past her mother.

"Hi Mrs. Cooper" Casey answers with an air of uncertainty at the unexpected call. There's a pause as he listens to the other side of the line. "Sorry, _Alice_... Yeah, she's here with me right now. Is everything okay?"

Shuffling a little further up Casey's chest, Betty squints, listening intently for any clue as to what reason or why her mother has called her boyfriend. However, she's only met with mumbled words coming from the familiar voice as Casey occasionally replies with the odd word of confirmation throughout the conversation. This lasts for a few minutes until the call draws to an end, with Casey clearly able to see that Betty is waiting expectantly for the second that the phone call draws to an end, before he instantly fills her in.

"Your parents are inviting us and Jughead over to dinner in a couple of days time. Bailey too, of course. Your mum was just checking a date to make sure I'm not away with work."

"Oh... Us, sharing a meal with my family, my ex and our three-year-old...? Oh, _great_... Gee, doesn't that sound delightful?"

* * *

 **Honestly, don't see the fact that they didn't kiss as a step back. Because, to me, no matter how strongly Betty feels about Jughead (which is still unclear), I honestly don't think that she would have kissed him in that situation. In my mind, I cannot see Betty cheating on Jughead, or with Jughead. However, the impact of their deep-and-meaningful as well as Jughead's profession about them being a family won't just fade away. Hang in there because the slow burn will be burning faster and faster over the next few chapters...**

 **Big thank you to Saki, violet1429,** **Isilme'sStar, Guest x3, JugBet, CallMeGigi, Marie King, Bughead4Life, hopelessromantic618 and krdurin for leaving a review on the last chapter. Thank you for your support and feedback! I'd love to know what you think of this one!**

 **Next chapter: Jughead and FP discuss what happened in Oklahoma. Confused over her family situation, Bailey asks Betty some uncomfortable questions. Then, Jughead tells Casey about what happened between him and Betty.**


	30. The Princes And The Princess

**CHAPTER THIRTY – The Princes And The Princess**

After returning home to Riverdale, Jughead's late-night confession to FP in Oklahoma has been at the forefront of his father's mind. Consequently, the older man has endeavoured to be conscious of ensuring that his son is doing okay and faring as well as he can in the wake of losing one of his closest friends. However, FP has also resolved within himself to remain aware on an ongoing basis and long-term as well, being aware of checking in with his son regularly as time goes by.

The morning after he and Betty returned home from Oklahoma, Jughead eventually made a slow start to the day after a lay-in, remaining in bed for a long time after waking up before finally surfacing from his old bedroom that had become his daughter's for the days that FP looks after her.

When he finally slinks out of his room, Jughead is quick to spot his father who is already dressed and ready, washing his cereal bowl at the sink of the small trailer.

The father and son exchange a brief greeting as Jughead focuses on getting himself some breakfast and pours himself out some cereal, just until he remembers a point that he needed to bring to his father's attention as they stand side-by-side at the same bench.

"Dad? I have news, by the way... I forgot to mention it last night, but this time I'm not going back to Oklahoma... I've officially moved back to Riverdale."

Nodding at his son's words that come as no surprise to him, a smile spreads across FP's lips before he speaks up.

"Good for you, mate. I'm glad to see you taking action to be a part of Bailey's life. Now, look, I don't what your plan is or where you're thinking to live, but just know that there's a place for you here as long as you want it."

As Jughead nods at his father's offer, a little smirk springs to the corner of his lips as he considers the tease which is about to follow.

" _Really_ , I'm just moving back here for my old room which you turned _pink_. Thanks for that."

FP chuckles at his son's remark, guilty as charged, having gone a touch overboard with accommodating the little girl in his humble home. Honestly, FP was just so grateful for Betty allowing him to have such an active role in his granddaughter's life that he really just wanted to make the most of that, not wanting to disappoint or fall short for either of those girls. All in all, FP was just endeavouring to do his best at being a good grandfather.

"Sorry mate, but I'm not gonna lie... I like _your_ kid more than I like _mine_. Far more cute."

Jughead tries to suppress his proud little grin, failing abysmally. He still struggles to comprehend that he had _any_ part in creating the sweet little girl who has stolen his heart, let alone being responsible for an entire fifty percent of her.

"I'm not arguing with that..."

FP's light-hearted chuckle at his son's remark lasts for a few moments before he becomes a little more serious as he diverts the conversation.

"So how are you doing anyway, mate?"

Under his father's watchful eye further along the bench, Jughead simply releases a long groan as his hands cover his face. It's almost as though he's still feeling the effect of the hangover several days after he and Betty went out drinking together in Oklahoma after the funeral that had been held for Doug.

"Next question?"

"What's wrong? Talk to papa" FP fires back.

Removing his head from his hands, Jughead looks at his father with a grimace.

"Don't ever say that again, please? Thank you."

"Noted" FP returns with a chuckle, before he back-tracks to his initial objective. "Now spit it out. What's wrong?"

Rubbing one hand over his face, Jughead exhales a sigh, carrying his bowl of cereal over to the small table in the trailer. He is mentally deliberating over his options, tossing up between venting to his father or staying silent.

"I've screwed things up... While we were in Oklahoma, I went to kiss Betty."

Across the room, FP's eyes widen and he has to take caution not to drop the plate that he had been midway through washing. Then, processing his son's confession, the Serpent has to his hide his smile at what Jughead has just told him about the girl he loves like his own daughter, the mother of his grandchild, forcing himself to remembering the detail that Betty is no longer single.

"What happened?"

"A couple nights ago, after the funeral, we went out drinking together-"

Wincing at the direction that the story is going in, FP can't stop himself from speaking up and interjecting in Jughead's story.

"Hell. No good story ever begins with that..."

"Not helping" Jughead snarls, before his eyes fall down to his breakfast uncomfortably.

FP waves a hand in the air, as if to say 'scrap that' before encouraging his son to continue explaining, making a note not to interject again, at least not if he wants Jughead to open up with the full story.

"Sorry, _continue_. So, you went out drinking together and..." FP prompts, inviting his son to fill in the blanks.

"We went out drinking together and things got heavy. We started talking about the past, about Bailey and about all my screw-ups. It got pretty deep and I think the liquid courage got me and-"

As Jughead pauses from his story and his explanation in order to take a deep breath, he leaves his father on the edge of his seat, waiting to hear the rest of the story, while only trying to look partially as interested as he is before his son continues to speak.

"-And then, out of nowhere, I got a spike of confidence and I told her that we could have a second shot, be a family and that I could fix everything I broke."

Sighing at the reminder of his own words, FP looks to Jughead inquisitively.

"Yeah? You said that? I'll ignore how many drinks it would have taken to get you to that point because I'm proud of you, Jug. I'm proud of you for trying to fight for your family."

Becoming suddenly fixated with his cereal, Jughead uses his spoon to play with his food, shoveling cornflakes back and forth between his bowl. He fights back the urge to make a remark over how they're hardly a family, just two high school sweethearts who share a child. However Jughead refrains from that, knowing that he's only lining himself up for some speech over loyalty.

Despite the silence, FP doesn't forget their discussion or the point when it trailed off, setting it back on course as he raises another question to his son.

"So what did she say to you, anyway, after you told her that?"

"Nothing. I didn't really give her a chance to say anything before my lips went launching themselves at her. Liquid courage, remember? So, not only did I screw things up with Betty, but consequently, I've only made it harder on myself to have a part in Bailey's life by wrecking things with her mum."

As Jughead sighs heavily, it's clear that he's blaming himself, regretting his sudden surge of confidence and the ramifications that came from that. FP knows that his son is kicking himself and punishing his own guilt. However, the older man remembers all the little moments and all the little exchanges that he'd witnessed, all the little indicators that there was something reciprocal there between the parents.

"Talk to her, Jughead. I'm not telling you to be the other man, I'm not condoning that by any means. But, take it from someone who's been around the block a couple of times... Be sure that resigning to the idea of never having a second chance is what you want, what you _both_ want. If it is, then you're going to have to suck it up and find a way to live with that. But, just be _sure_ that you've made certain of that. The two of you are far too young to live with life-long regrets. So, just talk to her and make sure that both of you aren't just giving up because it's the 'easy' choice. You both owe that much to your daughter at least."

#

Every now and then, Betty sets the to-do lists, the jobs and the chores aside for a little while to truly focus on _Bailey_ and to concentrate on just being there and spending time with her, without distraction. After all, as much as Betty likes to keep to routine, she knows that her little girl will only ever be little once and she hates the idea of the day when turning to her mummy for hugs won't be all that Bailey does to seek comfort and security.

Normally, Betty likes times like that to be electronic-free and they'll draw or go for a walk or just play together. However, today Bailey had kept asking to watch a movie and seeing as she'd woken up with an earache, complaining about her sore ears, Betty let it pass a once off. So, today the mother and daughter find their time together being spent with Bailey resting in Betty's arms, laying curled up against her mother's chest as they watch Bailey's current Disney movie of choice together... _Technically_. After all, the three-year-old is absorbed with the movie, but Betty is far more fascinated by the little girl in her arms with all her attention being focused on Bailey as she studies the little girl that she already knows so well.

She studies the concentration on her little girl's face as she watches the movie; her expression strongly reminiscent of her father. She notices how her blonde curls that are scattered around the perimeter of her face are a little curlier and wilder than usual today, framing her face beautifully. She notices the way her tongue runs across her lip distractedly every now and then in a trait that Bailey had either inherited from or observed in Betty herself. She loves watching her daughter watch the world through her bright eyes, with her long, black eyelashes that only accentuate her ocean-blue eyes that are the same shade as Jughead's...

Then, all of a sudden, Betty is distracted from her thoughts as Bailey shifts from where she is lying against her chest in order to peer up at her mother.

"Mummy?" Bailey asks as her big blue eyes gaze up to Betty.

"Yeah, baby?" Betty replies warmly, looking down to her daughter affectionately as she strokes a hand through Bailey's blonde curls, reassuring her daughter to raise what's on her mind.

"Why don't you kiss daddy?"

Glancing to the screen, Betty notes the current scene on the TV screen, the romantic moment responsible for inspiring her three-year-olds question that she couldn't be less prepared for. Of _all_ questions that Bailey could have put to her, Betty is quite sure that her daughter has picked the one that she couldn't have expected less.

"Why don't I kiss your daddy?" Betty blanches, restating Bailey's question as she stalls, buying herself time. However, her efforts to reiterate the question only backfire as Bailey just reaffirms her own question with what had raised her curiosity initially.

"Yeah, cause the mummies and daddies on TV kiss. It's yucky."

"You're right... A lot of mummies and daddies on TV _do_ kiss each other. But, I don't kiss your daddy anymore because I kiss Casey instead."

Bailey nods in understanding, thinking Betty's question over. Then, it's just when Betty is exhaling in relief at giving her inquisitive daughter an answer that she's content with when Bailey fires back with her next question, not quite so easily convinced.

"Then why isn't Casey my daddy?"

Bailey's question isn't suggestive. Rather, she's just trying to make sense of families and understand her own unusual situation.

Betty looks to her curious little girl, wide-eyed, for a few moments before she seems to recover from the surprise with an explanation that she hopes will suffice, rather than drag her deeper into the hole that she's digging for herself.

"Because, it doesn't matter who mummy kisses, Bailey, Juggie is always going to be your daddy, okay?"

Looking up to her with her blue eyes that melt her heart completely, Bailey eventually gives her mum a nod of understanding, before turning back to the movie, satisfied.

Pressing a kiss to the very top of Bailey's head, Betty couldn't be gladder for her daughter's attention to have returned to the movie. However, it doesn't last and apparently the topic is still being thought over and processed in the back of the three-year-olds mind as she speaks up once again, looking up to her young mother.

"Mummy?" Bailey asks in almost identical manner to the way that she had the first time she'd caught Betty's attention, just a few minutes earlier.

"Yes Bailey?"

Big, blue eyes look up to her mother curiously as she continues trying to piece their unusual family together, trying to comprehend the man who with her mother and the man who has only recently become a part of her life.

"Is Casey your prince, mummy?"

Betty pauses and considers her daughter's question for a moment before she smiles down to the little girl who is snuggled up in her arms. Bailey is looking up to her mother with admiration, like she holds all the answers to all the questions in the world just as Betty gives Bailey another one.

"Um... I don't know. I guess he is, sweetie..."

In response, Bailey nods for a brief moment, processing her mother's response before her eyes fly up to her once again with the remark that seems so simple to the three-year-old, yet catches Betty completely off-kilter.

"But _daddy_ wears a crown."

As her emerald eyes rapidly grow wide, Betty blanches uncomfortably with absolutely no clue as to what to say to _that_...

#

Betty had given Jughead her boyfriend's number a few weeks back before she and Casey's date, on the first time that he had cared for their daughter on his own. Betty had insisted it was a good idea for him to have Casey's number, too, in case something came up with Bailey and he couldn't reach Betty's phone for whatever reason.

However, before he finds himself calling his exes new boyfriend that morning, Jughead had never anticipated that he'd put that number to any use.

Tapping a particular contact in and exhaling a huge sigh as he puts the phone to his ear, Jughead has to resist the urge to hang up before a voice speaks up on the other side of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's Jughead..." Jughead's nervousness shines through in his voice and his hesitance as he speaks over the phone.

"Oh hi mate. How's things? What can I do for you?"

"Fine, thanks. Are you up to much today? I was hoping that we'd be able to meet up and have a chat..."

There's an outdrawn ' _uhhhh'_ and the ruffling of papers from the other side of the line before Jughead receives a definitive answer.

"Yeah, sure. We can meet up, no problems. How soon? I just checked and I have nothing booked for immediately after lunch so I can probably take an extended lunch break to meet up with you if you'd like?"

Jughead takes the availability in Casey's schedule, setting plans in place for the two of them to meet at one of Riverdale's few coffee shops, not really wanting to defile his safe haven at _Pops_ by having to tell Betty's boyfriend that he had attempted to cut his grass and make a move on the girl that they have both loved. Additionally, he figured that a public place would be a better place to tell him about what had happened in Oklahoma for Jughead's own safety...

#

Casey is already there, standing in line to place his order by the time that Jughead arrives.

Upon spotting him, the friendly blonde waves him over and tells Jughead which table he has taken before offering to get his order for him seeing as he's already in line. Despite Casey's insistence, Jughead refuses over and over again, not able to accept the other man's kindness given the reason that he has arranged to meet with him today.

Then after Jughead's arrival, it takes another ten minutes or so before both he and Casey are sitting down at the same table of the small cafe. Casey endeavours to make small talk, while Jughead responds half-heartedly, preoccupied with trying to determine how he will face what he needs to and raise it in conversation.

With his mind elsewhere, Jughead is only jolted from these thoughts as his own question and dilemma is solved for him as Casey's places down his latte with a sigh.

"Something happened between you and Betty while you were away, didn't it?" Casey asks sternly, suddenly growing serious as he grimaces at his own question.

"Look, that's why I wanted to talk to you... I've said this to Betty, too, but I don't want to wreck things between you two. But, you should know that the day of my friends funeral, I tried to kiss her."

As Jughead's blue eyes flinch away, Casey's brown ones stare over at him intensely, his nostrils flaring as he takes short, shallow breaths to control his hurt and his disappointment towards the man who is the father of his girlfriend's daughter, who he has only ever tried to reach out to and act amicably towards.

Closing his eyes, Jughead isn't sure what he's expecting next; a blow to the face or a heated blast of words in the coffee shop. Either way, his eyes close as he braces himself for whatever is coming next...

However, Casey doesn't reciprocate his hurt and his pain as he controls himself, clenching his fists angrily, but holding back... Unlike Jughead had.

"Why'd you do it?"

"It's no excuse, but I was drunk, I was grieving and I was stupid. I've never thought of myself as a home-wrecker, so I'm truly sorry that I came anywhere close to that."

Jughead is not convinced that Casey has even _listened_ to his answer as he fires his next question the second that Jughead has finished speaking.

"Do you still have feelings for her?"

"Uh" Jughead hesitates.

With two options laid out before him, Jughead knows that there's the truth and then there's the answer that Casey no doubt _wants_ to hear. After all, the truth hurts. However, being asked the question, point blank, Jughead chooses the former option over the latter, no matter how hard those words are for _both_ of them.

"Yes... But, Betty's the mother of my child. I think there'll always be _some_ degree of care and feeling there..."

In the pause between Jughead's words, Casey's head falls as he looks down to the table, stirring his latte with a sigh. However, his reaction doesn't stop Jughead as he continues to speak and elaborate on his initial answer.

"But, I know the two of you are together and I respect that. I know you don't have much reason to trust me, but it won't happen again. Because, I do care about Betty and I want her to be happy... _You_ make her happy."

More than anything else that Jughead has said so far today, this remark seems to comfort Casey the most. However it is still not enough to stop the freeze from the awkward silence that comes between the two boys that are still relative strangers, beside their mutual connection to the one girl.

After a few moments, Jughead chooses flight over fight as he gets up and exhales a sigh, figuring that not only have they fallen to silence, but he has already achieved what he had set out to do. So, getting up and leaving his half-drunken black coffee on the table, Jughead begins to walk off until he is stopped in his tracks.

"Jughead?"

With his attention caught by the call of his name, Jughead turns back around to the older man, giving him a little nod to confirm his attentiveness.

"What did she say, Jughead? After you went to kiss Betty, what did she say to you?"

Jughead can't hide the incredulous look that instantaneously spreads across his face. It's as though he's having to check that he's heard Casey right, growing uncomfortable enough for the both of them at the other man's odd question.

"Well, she knocked me back, like I said. Don't worry."

"Yeah, but what did she _say_?"

Again, Jughead looks at Casey with equal parts disbelief and confusion, looking at him strangely after he has seemingly just reiterated the same, odd question. However, despite the similarity, there is an important difference...

"She said that she can't..." Jughead begins hesitantly, squirming at the uncomfortable situation before he continues speaking, remembering being knocked back to answer Casey's question. "She said that she's with you. Like I said, she was loyal to you, _don't worry_."

Inhaling a deep breath, Casey's eyes flicker closed as he nods slowly at what Jughead has just told him, analysing his words and the deeper meaning behind them as he does his best to manage his own hurt and anger at the near-kiss between the two exes, one of which being his girlfriend.

"Thanks for letting me know. Look, I'm not impressed and it's not easy to hear but I appreciate your honesty."

* * *

 **Oooh, guys... I am so excited for you all to see the next few chapters. So many things have been on a slow burn in the background for so long and it's going to get to boiling point very soon over the next two or three chapters. I hope you all liked this chapter, nonetheless with a bit of a push from FP and even a little bit of low-key shipping from an oblivious Bailey. Also, Casey might not be quite as okay with Oklahoma as he seems.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I appreciate the ongoing support.**

 **Also dear guest/s. Sorry if I'm wrong but the majority of the more recent unnamed Guest reviews seemed like it was 1-2 people. Thank you for each comment. Firstly, regarding Betty 'choosing' Casey over Jughead by not kissing him. Definitely not the case. That moment wasn't Betty choosing one guy over another, that moment was Betty being faced with a temptation and a moral dilemma. In that moment she chose loyalty and integrity. She _chose_ not to be a cheater. Also, now I know I have had to spend a bit of time on Betty and Casey's relationship but that was something I wanted to do to do establish Casey as a character rather than just a two-dimensional roadblock and plot device. Plus, some of the things that I've mentioned about him and his past pop back up again. Lets just say that you might be thanking that guy soon enough. And, trust me when I say that things change very, _very_ quickly. Just you wait for chapter 32 especially... However, rest assured that while this has definitely been a slow-burn story thus far, it's a Bughead fic. **

**Next chapter: One nice, awkward family lunch coming up, with Alice Cooper in fine form. But, when she pushes too hard, what does she break? **


	31. Happy Families

**CHAPTER THIRTY ONE – Happy Families**

Alice Cooper had invited her youngest daughter, along with her own daughter, her boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend for lunch, set for the following day. Even from the outset, the meal was destined to be awkward, simply based off of the guest-list alone.

Casey had offered to pick Betty and Bailey up in order for the three of them to go together, also using it as an opportunity to touch base with his girlfriend beforehand. Today he is seeing her for the first time since Jughead had told him of their near-kiss in Oklahoma.

After Casey hesitantly enters the mother and daughter's apartment following the 'Come in!' that had followed his expected knock, there's a noticeable distancing and drift between the couple from across the room. She doesn't race over to him and he hesitantly lingers by the front door, his face failing to light up simply from her presence as it usually does.

However, Bailey races over to her mother's boyfriend is standing, giving his legs a hug before Betty catches her attention from where she's watching her daughter with her boyfriend.

"Bailey? How about you go and play in your room for a few minutes, baby..."

Bailey's two little, blonde, plaited piggy-tails bounce up and down as she nods her head to her mother's suggestion before bounding off to her bedroom down the hallway.

However, despite their newfound privacy, it doesn't seem to impact the uncomfortable air between the couple who remain on either side of the room. This lasts for a few moments, until Casey walks over and presses a kiss to Betty's cheek. It's sweet, but it's one of the most underwhelming greetings between them in a long time.

"So..." Casey begins, stepping away from Betty as his hands settle in the pockets of his neat jeans. "Jughead called me. He asked to meet up with me yesterday."

Betty nods knowingly. Her gaze flicks up to him momentarily before settling on a spot on the floor. She knows where this is going, she knows what's coming and she doesn't even consider trying to deny it.

"So he tried to kiss you?"

Betty nods once again as she looks down to the floorboards of her home. Then, in the silence, she takes a deep breath, preparing herself for the question that she feels is coming next, the question that she knows will hurt her boyfriend if she answers honestly, the question of ' _did you want to kiss him back?_ '...

However, it doesn't come...

Instead, when Casey speaks up with a statement rather than a question, it takes Betty a moment to recover from her surprise.

"He said you pulled away..."

"I did" Betty answers honestly with a nod. "I told him that we're together. I wouldn't cheat, Case."

As Casey nods his head in acknowledgement, he glances over to his girlfriend before he looks away again. It's like he's not sure how to think or what to feel over that. However, in the silence, Betty takes a deep breath before speaking up and elaborating on her initial answer more truthfully.

"Look, Casey, we didn't kiss, but if I'm being totally honest, we did have a bit of a moment. We'd been drinking and the conversation got pretty intense and there was a little moment..."

After her uneasy admission, Betty hesitates to look up at her boyfriend across the room, only seeing the guilt that she knows that _she_ has caused to spread across his face over her confession. She only sees his hurt that hurts her firsthand knowing that he doesn't deserve it in the slightest.

Then, a long, drawn out silence lingers in the room before Casey finally speaks up, raising the question that surprises her. In his words, there's no anger and there's no rage, there's just hurt as he clarifies one detail.

"Betty? Do you still want to be with me?"

Glancing up to him with her gentle emerald eyes, Betty nods silently as Casey exhales a little sigh. While he appreciates her honesty and he doesn't crucify her for what had happened, it is possible that Casey's empathy is his downfall, taking the situation at face-value, possibly not quite as concerned as he should be...

"And Jughead's just a friend? You went to Oklahoma to support a friend? To help Bailey's dad?"

Betty nods her head before answering him clearly and honestly.

"Yes."

After all, they are still _just_ friends... She _had_ gone to Oklahoma to support a friend seeing as nothing more has eventuated between them. And, she most definitely _had_ travelled across the country to help her daughter's dad; her care and concern for him motivating her.

There are no lies in Betty's confirmation and in her words. However, there's possibly not as much truth as there should be either...

Looking across the room as his brown eyes examine her green ones intently, Casey takes a moment and pauses, examining her under his watchful gaze. Then, it's as if she passes the test as he nods at her words and strolls across the room, closer towards her as he presses a delicate kiss to the top of Betty's hair.

Then, even though they have moved physically closer, even though they have addressed everything they needed to and even though everything is seemingly peaceful and calm, it's unsettling. It's like an unsettling calm... Like the calm before the storm.

After all, while Betty has been completely honest in every question that her boyfriend has asked her, perhaps there is more truth in what _hadn't_ been asked...

Perhaps he's asking the wrong questions...

After all, perhaps _'did you feel anything?'_ would have been a far more suitable question, with a more telling answer...

#

When Betty arrives to her parent's home with her daughter and boyfriend in tow, her mother is quick to answer the door, greeting the trio with saccharine sweet kisses and hugs to them all before leading them into Betty's childhood home.

Reaching the kitchen, Jughead is already sitting there at the breakfast bar, his arms crossed and scowl strong from where he's sitting in the middle of Betty's parents kitchen, looking like he's wishing that he was anywhere other than there.

When it came to arriving for the lunch, Jughead knew that he was damned either way. After all, he could arrive early, as he has done, and subject himself to the agony of being alone with his daughter's judgemental grandparents, or, he could have arrived after the others and listened to Alice bang on and on about tardiness, regardless of whether he was late or not, just simply hearing it for arriving after them.

From the other side of the room, Betty shoots Jughead a sympathetic look at understanding just how torturous his last few minutes must have been for him before they arrived. Then, as their daughter catches sight of him, Bailey races away from her mother's side and over to her dad with a little squeal of joy.

"Daddy!" Bailey grins, racing over to Jughead at the breakfast bar.

"Hey there, beautiful girl" Jughead smiles, reciprocating his daughter's delight despite the fact that just moments ago, he was feeling tortured; willing himself to be anywhere else than right there, in that house, right then.

Then, it's just as Jughead picks Bailey up to pull her onto his lap to sit with him at the breakfast bar when Alice quickly shoves her pie in the oven and invites her guests over to the dining table for lunch.

Just as the group are taking their seats at the table, Hal suddenly shows up and takes his own seat, briefly greeting both men but concentrating his smiles and warmth to the two girls who are visiting his home; namely his youngest daughter and granddaughter.

Thankfully, Alice is quick to bring their meal out with the food helping to alleviate the majority of awkwardness between the group as they concentrate on eating, though the glances across the table that are shot in every direction cannot be avoided.

Then, it's just as Alice finishes her small serving of the roast she'd spent hours preparing and just after dabbing at her perfectly applied pink lipstick when she glances across the table to Betty and Casey.

"So, Ms. McMahon approached me today, asking if we've heard any wedding bells ringing yet. I said _no_ , not yet, but I didn't tell her that I don't think it will be very long at all before _do_... In fact, do you know that she's the _third_ person this week who has asked me that very question?" Alice pauses from her story as her eyes shift and narrow on the father of her granddaughter from across the table before she continues to speak.

"It makes you think about _another_ question being asked, doesn't it?"

Each of the young adults around the table react a little differently to the Cooper matriarch's evident insinuation. Under her eagle-eye, Jughead is only even more uncomfortable as he fidgets with his sleeve as he looks down to his plate, then from across the table Casey chuckles uncomfortably, while Betty just glares at her mother.

After her uncomfortable suggestion has had the desired impact, Alice gives a flick of her hand and turns to Casey with a genuine smile.

"Don't worry, no hurry... After all, you're already like a father to little Bailey, aren't you Casey?"

Hearing her name, Bailey's head bolts up, looking at her grandmother as she tries to ascertain what is going on and what about her is being mentioned. However, Betty just presses a reassuring hand to her daughter's shoulder as she stares her mother down.

" _Mum_..." Betty says warningly, before turning to her own father. "Dad? Can you please put a movie on for Bailey out in the lounge room? Please?"

There's a brief pause in the conversation as Bailey follows Hal out of the room, the two of them leaving an intense silence behind them, until Alice shrugs Betty's unhappy stare off complacently.

"What? He is, isn't he? After all, Casey was good enough to be like a father to a little girl who was abandoned and left fatherless for so much of her life..."

"Mum!"

Alice's taunt springs Betty into action as she flies up from her seat with her hands clapping down on the wood of the dining table. Betty proceeds to look from one boy to the other, sending both a smile of reassurance at their unique places in her daughter's life.

"Yes, Bailey and Case get on great. She adores him. But, she _has_ a father."

Betty's firm response just results in a couldn't-care-less eye roll from her mother.

"Fooled me... After all, I don't remember Bailey having a father on the day she was born. I don't remember her having a father watch her take her first steps to you, Betty. And, I don't remember Bailey having a father on her birth certificate..."

Alice's words don't _cause_ any pain and insecurities for Jughead. Rather, they only deepen his own self-inflicted stabs of pain he has felt, reaffirming Jughead of all of his own echoing doubts that linger in the back of his mind and all of his guilt that he hasn't found a way to let go of over his failure in his daughter's life. _It hurts_.

Betty sees the impact that her mother's words have on the man that she knows so well, deepening his own pain that he punishes himself for. _It hurts_.

"Yes mum, Jughead screwed up. But, he did not intentionally abandon his daughter. And if we're analysing poor decisions, then guess what? We're not all that much better than him. After all, wouldn't you call seventeen and sixteen and pregnant respectively a screw up _too_ , mum? Like mother like daughter?"

Betty sends Alice an icy glare that rivals the ones that she herself has been giving. Then, the older Cooper's expression stiffens once again as she turns to Jughead.

"So, where were you? Where was it that was _so_ important for you to be that you left your pregnant girlfriend, heartbroken, without a trace or so much as a goodbye?"

"Oklahoma" Jughead states simply, his voice monotone as he intentionally fails to divulge any further details.

Alice raises a single, unimpressed eyebrow at Jughead just as Hal returns to the room after having just put _Frozen_ on for the three-year-old while the adults have it out.

"So what was so important about Oklahoma? What excuse could you possibly have to explain the reason as to why you lost connection with everyone and everything in Riverdale? Why you couldn't even let Betty know where you were?"

Betty glances over to Jughead sympathetically, knowing _what_ that reason is. However, before he has a chance to speak up and say a word either way, either divulging the reason or refusing to, Betty pipes up, not wanting her ex to have to feel pressured into giving the sensitive answer to her mother's malicious questions that are designed to ensnare him at one point or another.

"He thought he was protecting me by leaving. Sure, he was wrong, but Jughead thought he was protecting me at the time. Just leave it at that."

Alice Cooper does not. She does not leave it at that as she simply ignores Betty's request while she bursts out laughing.

"That is _hilarious_! He thought he was protecting you by leaving without a goodbye?! And you truly think he was protecting you?! Why are you standing by him, Betty? _I_ was the one who had to take you to all your prenatal appointments and see the look on your face every time you had to detail that the father of your child wouldn't be joining us and that no, he wouldn't need an ultrasound photo. _I_ was the one who had to hear you cry yourself to sleep for months on end... Why are you protecting him now?"

Apparently Jughead isn't the only one who is under attack. After all, her mother's sharp words prompt painful, vivid memories for Betty as glassy tears begin to form in her emerald green eyes while she focuses on trying to remain strong. Although she's trying to protect and defend Jughead, Betty can't simply ignore the extent of the raw pain that he had unknowingly brought on her.

"It's not that simple, mum..."

"It's not?" Alice taunts. "So what _possible_ reason could Jughead for you to be okay with him abandoning you and your daughter?!"

Glancing around the table, Betty can see the way her mother's eyebrow is raised, as if daring her. Then Betty catches the fear that is written on Jughead's face as the conversation grows closer and closer to revealing the heartbreaking reason that he had left town all those years ago. And, finally, Betty glances to her boyfriend beside her, noting that Casey has remained dead silent. The blonde man has just been watching and listening intently to everyone and everything as he stays sitting on the side-lines, following people's line of view and the glances that are shared across the table, telling him even more than their words do.

Consequently with a deep breath, Betty shakes her head at her mother.

"I can't say... I _won't_ say. It's none of your business, mother. It's extremely personal. It's Jughead's reason and I'm grateful that he told me, but he doesn't owe it to you or anyone else to share his reason."

Alice goes silent for a moment and for just a second, it seems as though she might _finally_ respect the boundaries of privacy. However, that only lasts until she turns to Casey.

"Perhaps it doesn't involve _me_ , but what about _you_? How do you feel about this? How do you feel about Betty having secrets with her ex? Or do you know why he left her? Surely as Betty's boyfriend, something personal would involve you, too, _right_? Otherwise that's hardly the foundation of a solid relationship between the two of you..."

Casey glances at each person around the table, his gaze lingering on Betty before he speaks up.

"I don't think it's my right to know..."

Glancing to her boyfriend, Betty hears the hesitance in his words. Although he's telling her mother one thing, Betty can sense that the defusing comment does not reflect how he truly feels about it. Rather, Casey is clearly uncomfortable about the situation surrounding Jughead that he has tried to be so accepting of, more so now that the spotlight is being shone on the secret that Jughead and Betty share so suddenly.

However, Alice doesn't seem to get the memo that the only people that her relentless pushing and prodding is forcing apart is her daughter and the boyfriend that she approves of as Betty is forced to stand by and defend her ex. Then, Alice continues as she turns to Jughead this time with a growing smirk.

"Anything you'd care to say or admit to, Jug-head? Just in case you abandoning my daughter and granddaughter wasn't enough, you can't even be big enough to own up to the reason why."

While Alice had directed her taunts to one person, someone else answers in a raised tone and with blazing green eyes.

"Stop it! You're bullying him!" Betty begins, addressing her mother fiercely, having had more than enough of her torments, ridicule and leading questions throughout the disastrous lunch.

Then, Betty turns to Jughead, reaching a hand out to briefly touch his arm that is resting on the table to the side of her, reassuring him against her mother's tactics.

"Don't let her pressure you. She's a bully. You don't have to say anything, Juggie. It's not even remotely her right to know why you left."

Despite Betty's damage control, Alice Cooper is relentless. As Betty grows more and more defensive of the sensitivity of the reason that her mother is pushing to be revealed, Alice can tell that she's wearing Jughead down. So, with one final push, she hopes to deliver the final blow...

"What could possibly so personal that you can't speak up about the reason why you left and abandoned Betty and your daughter for so many years? What could possibly be so secretive? Mind you, everyone's lives were better off without you. Casey was doing a better job at filling your spot than you could ever do. After all, I know what Jones' are like..."

This time Alice succeeds, she gets Jughead deep and Betty knows this, her face filling with instantaneous rage as she flies out of her seat. Meanwhile, Casey watches on from the sidelines.

Then, finally, someone snaps, but it's _not_ who Alice was expecting.

"Betty? Can I talk to you alone for just a moment?"

As Casey speaks up, looking his girlfriend in the eye seriously, Jughead seizes the opportunity to get up, saying that he's going to check on Bailey who is obliviously watching her movie in the lounge room.

Meanwhile, Betty just nods at Casey's question, leading him upstairs to her former bedroom in an uncomfortable silence. Alice's line of reasoning acting as the straw that ha broke the camels back as Casey thinks over the very same question.

After all, he's tried to be okay with Bailey's father returning to Betty's life. He's tried to be okay with Betty following her ex-boyfriend across the country. He's tried to be okay with the fact that that led to them staying there alone for a few days. He's tried to be okay with the fact that Betty had almost shared a kiss with the father of her child. He's tried to be okay with the fact that she shares his secret that she refuses to give up.

But, after so much trying to be okay, it's not okay anymore... Betty can tell.

* * *

 **Nice, awkward lunch there... Things went from brewing beneath the surface to bubbling over. Poor Jughead being attacked by Alice, poor Betty having to juggle defending Jug and poor Casey getting caught in the middle of it all. I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter...**

 **Thank you to everybody who left feedback on the last chapter. It honestly makes my day reading your feedback and knowing that people out there appreciate all the time and effort I spend on my stories.**

 **Next chapter : In the wake of the disastrous lunch, Betty debriefs with both Casey and Jughead, pushing her further in one direction. **


	32. Loyalty

**CHAPTER THIRTY TWO – Loyalty**

During her mother's ongoing digs and jibes at Jughead throughout lunch it had prompted Betty to come to the defense of the father of her child over and over again, leaving her boyfriend watching on the sideline to see the passion and care for the man that had broken her heart so badly all those years ago.

Casey could see how much Betty still _felt_ for Jughead; care, love and pain. But, more than anything else, Casey could see the intensity of her loyalty to Bailey's father... It had been an eye-opener, seeing everything that he has been overlooking and everything he thought that he could overlook. Then, finally, Casey realises that there is no other way around it than _through_ it.

So, after asking to speak to his girlfriend alone, Casey followed Betty upstairs to her childhood bedroom that she had shared with her own daughter for the first six months of Bailey's life.

"I'm sorry about that, Case. I know that my mother is using you to get to Jughead... In fact, I actually think she was using all three of us as pawns against each other" Betty begins as she closes the door behind herself and her boyfriend after he follows her into her bedroom. The two stand apart on either side of Betty's feminine bedroom that oozes vintage charm.

"I know..."

Casey's simple response prompts a lingering silence between the couple as she looks across the room to him while he looks down to his feet. While the two of them can enjoy each other's company in a comfortable silence when things don't necessarily need to be said or done, this moment is _not_ one of those moments. The silence is anything _but_ comfortable with far too much that has to be said and done between the couple...

As his eyes finally rise from where they had been firmly fixed on the ground beneath him, Casey exhales a heavy sigh as he finally speaks up and breaks through the wall of silence that has just built up between the couple. He raises the same question to his girlfriend that her mother had been asking over and over again during the lunch, tormenting both Jughead and Betty over the fact that neither of them would detail the reason why.

"Betty? Why did Jughead leave you? Why did you two break up all those years ago?"

Betty green eyes flicker on her boyfriend before they flicker away as she releases a guilty sigh. She's being wedged between her loyalty to the father of her child and her boyfriend. Then, finally, she speaks up, looking back over to him with pleading eyes as she implores Casey to understand her situation.

"I can't say, Case... I'm sorry, but I really can't say. It's not my right to tell anyone. Its _Jughead's_ secret. It's too private and it's too personal for me to say to anyone, even you."

Casey doesn't say a word in response, he just nods slowly and silently at what Betty is telling him as he analyses the greater meaning behind her words and what she is telling him. In his mind, she has just failed the test; forfeiting the chance and opportunity to place her loyalty to him over her loyalty to Jughead. She had failed.

Consequently, the two of them return to silence once again, just for a far longer time this time as they exchange brief glances before looking away from the other over and over again.

When Casey finally speaks up once again, his voice is soft and raw, his words a little croaky after the amount of time it has taken him to finally speak up. However, what his words lack in volume, they make up for in emotion, tenfold.

"Where do I rank, Betty? I appreciate that Bailey will _always_ be your number one, but where do I rank? Am I below Jughead? Veronica? What about your mother? Archie? Sherriff Keller? What do I mean to you, Betty? I'm not angry but I do need to know."

Although Casey is asking Betty a question, it's like he's pleading for an answer other than the one that he is expecting. His words are filled with longing, rather than accusation.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you why he left... I can't betray Jughead like that" Betty pauses, with a sniffle as her emerald green orbs sparkle with the glassy, unfallen tears that fill her eyes.

It's like although neither of them have said the words aloud, both of them know that more is left unsaid between them. They both know the higher stakes and the greater meaning behind Betty's loyalty than simply just giving a secret up or not as she continues to explain.

"He's Bailey's dad. He is _always_ going to be a part of our life. So, for as long as he deserves it, I'm going to have his back."

With a nod and a heavy sigh, Casey finally begins to move from where both he and Betty had become fixed to their places on either side of her old bedroom. Suddenly springing to action, he walks across the room, closer towards her as he takes her hands in his.

"Look Betty, like I said, I'm not angry. Perhaps a little hurt, yes, but you have the right to feel the way that you feel. But, I've felt this way for a while too and today has only confirmed that realisation to me. Your loyalty to me is split with Jughead, Betty... It's not fair to you and it's not fair to me."

Casey hears the little sniffle from Betty as she listens to his words. Yet, with glassy eyes and a guilty conscious, Betty knows that she can't dispute what he's saying and she knows that she can't even _try_ to deny it as she remains silent, continuing to listen to his words with tear-filled eyes and a growing lump in the back of her throat.

"You know how I was engaged?" Betty nods. She recalls how her boyfriend has told her about his two serious relationships before her; one being with his own high school sweetheart and then the girl who he had intended to marry until she broke off their engagement a few months before their wedding, eight years ago now.

"My ex-fiancée made a tough call. She ended our engagement because she told me that it wasn't right. She realised that I hadn't moved on properly from my first girlfriend; not completely. In time, I learned to appreciate what she had done and the call she had made... Now, it's my turn to do that, Betty. I need to make the same call. _We're_ not right because you still love Jughead on some level. Because if you loved me enough or even _at all_ , you wouldn't feel like that with someone else."

Betty's eyes fly up to her boyfriend, open wide with shock.

" _What_?"

Casey exhales a deep breath and runs a hand through his short, styled, blonde hair before his brown eyes meet her green ones.

"You still love _him_ , Betty. Or, at the very least, you still feel very deeply for him. And, I think he still loves you."

With her eyes wide open in surprise, Betty's mouth falls opens and closes shut a few times as she stalls and stutters in surprise at her boyfriend's statement. After all, in just a few words, Casey has pinpointed Betty's feelings that she had perceived as affection, as nostalgia and the bond of sharing a child, shielding herself and her mending scars from the idea of feeling anything other than that.

"Look, I'm not accusing you of actively cheating on me or anything, Betty; I'm not holding that against you. But, I can tell that Jughead means more to you... Even just a few minutes ago, I asked you where I rank and you couldn't give me an answer. You couldn't tell me that _yes_ , he's Bailey's father but I mean more to you. And, when Jughead told me about when he tried to kiss you, I know you pulled away. But, you didn't do that because of **you** , you did that because of _me_. You didn't tell him that you didn't want to; you told him that you _couldn't_."

Listening to Casey's words, she can't bear to look him in the eye, glancing away uncomfortably as he so perfectly summaries everything that she didn't even know about herself, with the added pain of knowing that she has hurt her boyfriend and that he was the one to realise it.

"So, thank you for your loyalty to me and to our relationship, Betty, but you don't feel about _me_ the way you feel about _him_. I'm not going to try and fight that; not when a kid's involved... Because, if Bailey has the chance of having a family and her parents being together, I'm not going to try and deprive her of that for my sake. So, I thank you for staying loyal to me, Betty, even though your heart wasn't."

Listening to his words and seeing the way Casey's eyes are growing a little glassy fills Betty's own green eyes with tears. She reaches out to touch his face and cup his cheek in her palm as she feels her relationship with the man that she could have been happy with crumbling down from their breaking point.

"You are the _perfect_ man, Casey Turner... You are going to be someone's perfect man. You are too perfect for _me_. Deep down, I think I realised a long, long time ago that perfection isn't for me... _I'm sorry_. Thank you for being such a good boyfriend. Thank you for everything you've done for me, as well as Bailey."

With a small nod and a sad smile, Casey's hands move similarly to Betty's as his own hands cup the side of her face tenderly, too.

"Thank you for being loyal to me even though deep down, you felt otherwise."

Betty nods uncomfortably, not really feeling like it is something that she should be thanked for as she swipes a tear from her eyes.

Then, slowly -ever so slowly- Casey takes a deep breath and moves a little closer towards her, his head leaning down a little as their foreheads slowly connect and rest on one another's tenderly in a long silence.

In that moment, the silence says all the words that they don't...

They're over. He knows it, she knows it.

"I'm sorry Casey..." Betty whispers, her breath hitching in her throat as a few welling tears finally begin to stream down her cheeks. "I really am sorry."

"I know... I'm sorry, too" Casey says as his own hands reaches to cup Betty's face and his thumb extends to dry her damp eyes and tear-streaked cheeks.

Then, with a raspy breath, Casey leans down to press a single, soft and tender kiss to Betty's lips for one last time.

After he pulls away from their goodbye kiss, Casey offers to return downstairs with her and he offers to put on a front for the rest of the lunch, telling her that they can reveal that they've broken up at a later date to just focus on getting through and enduring the family lunch. Then, thinking of the little girl he would have been prepared to be a step-father to, Casey tells Betty to let him know if there's anything that he can do to help Bailey adjust to the changes in her life and if there's anything he can do to make it easier on the three-year-old he adores.

However, with damp eyes and a slow head-shake, Betty declines his kind offers and tells him not to worry about it, paining her that he continues to think of her and ways to make things easier on _her_ , even in the wake of their breakup.

Then, finally, Casey strolls across Betty's old bedroom, lingering on the spot with his hand on the doorhandle as he looks back to her.

"Goodbye Betty Cooper..."

Then, with a deep breath and a sad smile, Casey Turner releases his hold on his unrequited love.

#

While Betty remains upstairs, sitting on the side of her bed in her old room, Casey goes downstairs to leave the uncomfortable Cooper family lunch that had ended with a breakup.

Walking down the stairs and then into the kitchen, the blonde man approaches Betty's mother to politely thank her for having him, despite the fact that all he wants is to get out of there as quickly as he can.

"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Cooper, but I'm going to have to be going. Thank you so much for lunch. It was incredible, as always."

After she once again insists for him to her call her by her name rather than her title, Alice walks around the kitchen bench to pull Casey in for a hug before he leaves.

"So soon? Oh that's a shame!" Alice exclaims genuinely as she speaks to the man that she approves of for her daughter, blissfully unaware that Betty's boyfriend is now her _ex_ -boyfriend. "Are you sure you can't even stay for a piece of pie?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry but I have to go" Casey answers, just eliciting another look of disappointment from the senior Cooper woman.

Then, after thanking her for lunch once again and excusing himself, Casey walks off to do the same with Hal and say his thank yous and goodbyes to Betty's father before he makes his way through to the lounge room; his final destination in the Cooper home.

"Knock knock" Casey says audibly, announcing his presence and interrupting the movie that the father and daughter are watching together. "Sorry to disturb you two, I just wanted to say goodbye."

Looking up from her movie, Bailey's big, blue eyes are filled with disappointment.

"You're going?"

Casey walks over to the lounge that they're seated at, nodding sombrely at Bailey's question.

"Yeah, I'm sorry sweetie, but I have to go."

As Casey nears her, Bailey throws her arms out and open to him as he gives her a big hug goodbye. Then, after the two of them separate, Bailey finds her seat on the lounge beside her father once again, with her interest returning to the movie. Casey then moves to the man sitting beside Bailey, holding a hand out and open for him to shake. Jughead stands up from where he'd made himself comfortable on the lounge in order to get up and reciprocate the blonde man's gesture, shaking his hand and taking the olive branch that had been extended out to him.

Although Jughead might not know it yet, the handshake marks Casey bowing out of the race for the same woman's affections. After all, deep down, Casey knows that for as long as the raven-haired-man is his opposition, it's a race that he'll never be able to win.

Then, once the handshake between them ends, Casey glances to the father and daughter sitting on the lounge together with a small smile as he speaks up once more, although it is obliviously to Bailey whose focus has returned fully to her movie.

"Jughead..." Casey begins, continuing to speak as a pair of baby blue eyes make contact with his own brown ones.

"Look after them."

#

After taking a few minutes to collect her thoughts, to dry her eyes and allow herself to come to terms with her break up, Betty finally returns downstairs, entering the kitchen just as her mother is pulling her signature peach and maple pie out of the oven, leaving it to cool.

"Will Casey be coming back? It's a shame he had to leave so early" Alice asks, spotting her daughter walking into the kitchen.

"No. No he won't be..." Betty begins as she rests her hands on her hips, walking over to the bench with her seriousness conveyed to her mother in her firm body language.

Then, Betty quickly moves on from the conversation that her mother had begun in order to address another issue, managing to change gears quickly despite the fact that she'd been sitting in her old room upstairs, with teary eyes, just minutes ago.

"Look, the way you spoke to Jughead at lunch today was absolutely _unacceptable_. If you choose to continue degrading my daughter's father like that, _especially_ in her company, then I will be restricting the amount of time that Bailey spends here and the amount of time she spends with you because I do not want my daughter to have to be subjected to poison like that about her dad. Are we clear?"

Alice is a little set back by her daughter's ferocity. While she _had_ expected Betty to defend Jughead throughout the lunch to a degree, when she had attempted to turn the tables and remind her daughter of the painful past, she had expected Betty to back down. Either way, Alice certainly hadn't expected her daughter to threaten her time with her granddaughter like that. So, with a little nod of understanding the older Cooper succumbs.

"So, what exactly did you set out to achieve today, mum? Were you trying to force Jughead out of our lives again? Replace him with Casey? I don't know what you were playing at today, mum, but congratulations, Casey and I have broken up."

As Betty delivers the blow to her mother, she doesn't linger and wait around for her reaction before she storms out of her families kitchen, leaving Alice with the shock clearly etched on her face. Her mouth hangs open wide at the sudden realisation of just how abysmally she had failed in her mission for the day.

Then, after her encounter with her mother, Betty walks through her childhood home that she knows so well, walking through to where 'Let It Go' is blasting from the lounge room. Standing in the doorway for a moment, Betty bites her lip with a smile, watching on as her daughter serenades her grinning father, observing as their three-year-old dances around the room, singing to the song.

Watching on silently as she waits for Bailey's little solo to draw to an end, Betty finally speaks up and draws attention to herself from where she's slumped against the doorway.

"Hey... Can I join you two?" Betty asks with a small smile as she pokes her head into the room, pulling the mask over her face for her daughter's sake, trying to conceal the fact that she's just broken up with her boyfriend.

Instantly, two heads glance over to the familiar voice as Jughead, along with little, blonde, female Jughead nod at Betty's question.

"Yes mummy!" Bailey exclaims as she turns her attention away from her movie in order to shuffle over on the lounge and move closer to her Jughead. In making space for her mother, the three year old's head falls to her father's chest with Bailey making herself quite comfortable in his company. Her actions cause a smile to curl on Jughead's lips as he slowly extends a hand out to gently stroke his daughter's golden locks, reciprocating her affection towards him.

Witnessing the little moment between Jughead and their daughter makes Betty happy and fills her heart with so much warmth. After all, it's all that she's ever wanted for her little girl. She's only ever wanted her to feel loved, safe and happy with her dad and it makes her _so_ happy to see that kind of connection finally being able to blossom between Jughead and Bailey, even in such a short amount of time.

Collecting her thoughts after watching the little moment between father and daughter, Betty smiles and walks across the room, sitting down beside Bailey as she presses a kiss to the top of her head from where the little girl is sitting comfortably between both of her parents, leaning against Jughead. There, the three of them share the lounge, continuing to watch the Disney movie as it plays on, ignoring the fact that they've made themselves quite at home in Betty's parents home.

After a few minutes of watching Bailey's movie with her, Betty feels a vibration from her jeans pocket. Upon retrieving her phone as she pulls it out of her pocket, Betty notes who the message is from as she quickly reads over it. Then, with a small, bittersweet smile, Betty glances over to the sender.

 **Jughead:** Are you okay?

 **Betty:** Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks. How are you? I'm so sorry about everything my mum said. Please don't take what she said to heart, k? She was out of line and completely wrong... I told her she won't be allowed near Bailey if she speaks like that again.

 **Jughead:** Thanks... I'm alright. It wasn't your fault tho. But thank you for defending me.

Betty glances to the man on the same lounge, with just their daughter between them.

 **Betty:** Is there any chance you'd be able to take her for this afternoon?

 **Jughead:** Of course... What's going on?

 **Betty:** Casey just broke up with me.

* * *

 **So, Betty and Casey are all over, red rover. See, I told you all to trust me... ;) While he might not be a Jughead Jones, I hope you have liked Casey as a second-best, just as he was for Betty. I feel like there's such a push to have a 'bad' guy (or girl!) in love triangles. But, I wanted to portray Casey as just a genuinely nice guy. After all, feelings are enough to complicate a love triangle and unfortunately in this case, he was the one who got hurt although it was between three good people. Bughead are a force to be reckoned with, after all!**

 **Anyway, please let me know what you thought of the chapter. I'm going away over the break and I was up until 5 AM proofreading this to have it ready to post for when I got home from work and before I leave. So, I'd love to know what you all thought of the chapter, of the breakup and of the little smidgen of a family scene.**

 **Next chapter: Jughead finds a way to support Betty for a change. Meanwhile, FP and Bailey make a little resolution.**


	33. Returning The Favour

**CHAPTER THIRTY THREE – Returning The Favour**

After the ill-fated lunch with her family that had ended in her boyfriend of the last seven months breaking up with her, Betty's daughter had gone home with her father after Jughead had agreed for himself and his own father to take Bailey for the night, in order to give Betty a bit of time post-breakup.

However, within an hour of returning home and playing with his daughter, a little thought that he can't shake surfaces in the back of Jughead's mind...

After all, given the fact that she's all alone after having just gone through a breakup earlier that day, Jughead realises that Betty herself probably needs to be looked after just as much as their daughter does right now.

So, after checking if his dad was able to care for Bailey for a few hours (the doting grandfather had been more than willing to do so), Jughead told his daughter exactly what was happening and that he had to go out and see a friend –who just so happened to be her mother- reassuring her that he'd be back a little later on. Then, after a detour to collect a few things, Jughead made his way to his daughter's home, knowing that there'd only be one occupant there.

It takes half a minute or so after he knocks before the door finally swings open, revealing a dressed-down version of Betty compared to the effort that she had made to have lunch with her family. Now she's just wearing a pink singlet with grey tights, her hair has been thrown up in a messy bun and she's removed any trace of her makeup from earlier in the day. She still looks effortlessly beautiful.

"Juggie... What are you doing here? Where's Bailey?" Betty quickly asks her visitor with a little frown settling on her face as her eyebrows furrow seriously.

He feigns a look of dumbfounded realisation and for just a moment, Betty's eyes momentarily grow wide with fear for their daughter.

" _Oh..._ I thought I was forgetting something..." Jughead teases before he breaks, with the smile spreading across his face as Betty just forces a pout, not giving him the satisfaction of getting to her successfully.

"My dad was more than happy to be put on grandpa-duties. After all, he was whinging to me just the other day that ever since I got back, I've eaten into his time with Bailey."

Betty nods in understanding, a small smile threatening her lips at the mention of her daughter's adoring grandfather. However her brow remains creased in confusion as she tries to determine the reason why he's here, standing on her doorstep and not with their three-year-old instead. Jughead is quick to realise this, filling the blonde in as he holds up his shopping bags in his hands for emphasis.

"Look, you've been there for me through so much lately. I just wanted to take the chance to repay the favour..."

With a small, grateful smile, Betty steps aside from the door to let him into her home.

"How are you doing, anyway?" Jughead asks, glancing back to her as he walks inside and places his shopping bags on her kitchen bench, unloading their contents.

"I've had better days but I'm okay, thanks" Betty says after a sigh, essentially shrugging his question off and she fails to divulge anything substantial in response to his question. Jughead senses this, but brushes it off, figuring that talking to one ex about your other ex-boyfriend is hardly common practice.

However, both of them become distracted as Jughead begins unloading the contents of his shopping bags that he'd carried in, while Betty's heart-eyes are just about visible as she watches the father of her child unloading cookie dough ice-cream, original chips, corn relish, a block of chocolate and a bottle of red wine onto her bench.

"Thank Veronica. I think she read enough _Cosmopolitan_ articles out to the group during high school for me to get a clue as to what girls need during a breakup..."

Betty chuckles, remembering all the lunchtimes that Veronica had pulled out her Gospel, forcing the boys to take quizzes to determine 'their type' and telling Betty all about 'the seven signs that he's the one'.

"I figured you might not have told Veronica herself yet, _so_ I thought that I'd try and be your girl-friend for the night... Just call me whatever the female version of 'Jughead' is and think of me as your girlfriend who has come ready for girl talk and equipped with wallowing food."

Betty snickers, appreciating his offer in her hour of need with a warm smile, although she cannot suppress her amusement.

"I don't even think that 'Jughead' can necessarily even be classed as a name, let alone a boys name..."

#

After Jughead left his daughter with his father in order to check on Betty, FP took Bailey to a nearby playground for a little while, before returning home to prepare dinner for the two of them.

The grandfather is currently standing at the stove-top, stirring the bolognaise sauce as his pasta boils in another pot. FP has never been a culinary genius, but spaghetti bolognaise is one of the few meals that he can prepare easily, so he was thankful when his granddaughter approved of his suggestion to make them both pasta for dinner.

While FP made dinner, Bailey preoccupied herself with a few pencils and paper as she sat down at the low coffee table in the lounge room of the small trailer, contently drawing and colouring away happily, with Hot Dog curled up next to the three-year-old.

"Grandpa! Grandpa, look!" Bailey announces as she gets up from her spot at the coffee table, racing over to her beloved grandfather, waving a piece of paper around in her hand with excitement.

Bailey has barely reached FP's side and he certainly hasn't had a chance to catch a good look of what she's waving around before she responds to her own statement, explaining her illustration to her grandfather.

"It's a snake, grandpa! Like the snake on your big jacket!"

Although the picture is mostly just childish scrawl with a flood of green, after Bailey explains the significance of her drawing to him a smile spreads across the proud grandfather's face as he notes the slight resemblance to the Southside Serpent logo that he bears on the back of his leather jacket.

Honestly, he's a little surprised to see the picture in Bailey's hand as she waves it in front of him happily. After all, his jacket that identifies him as the leader of the local Southside gang usually spooked his granddaughter.

One day, when the three-year-old had caught sight of the vicious looking reptile on FP's jacket, she had clung to Betty fearfully; refusing to leave her mother's hip after she saw the Southside Serpent logo, consisting of the hissing snake on her grandfather's leather jacket.

So, although he had been wearing his jacket at first today seeing as Jughead had brought his daughter over unexpectedly, as a general rule FP tries to avoid wearing his leather jacket in his granddaughter's presence or when he knows there's a chance he might be seeing Bailey.

Then, looking down to the little girl, seeing her radiant smile and bright blue eyes like his own sons orbs, FP turns the stovetop off as he kneels down beside her.

"What a great picture, Bailey!" FP compliments, giving the little girl a warm and genuine smile as he reaches a hand out to ruffle his granddaughter's blonde curls, making her giggle happily at his affection and doting words before he becomes a little more serious.

"Do you know why I wear that jacket?"

With two big, blue eyes looking up at her grandfather, Bailey shakes her head honestly; blonde curls flying in every direction.

"Even though it's a bit scary, I wear that jacket because I want everyone to see that I made a promise to always protect the people in my life that I care about... People like your daddy, and your mummy, and most of all, _you_ , Miss Bailey Jones."

With her grandfather looking her in the eye, Bailey just giggles proudly, feeling loved and special from his reassurances that focused in on her.

"Me too, grandpa" Bailey says with a decisively adamant nod, reciprocating FP's sentiments before a little gasp of realisation escapes from her lips.

"Oh! And we gotta pa-tect Hot Doggie, too!"

#

A little later on they haven't yet moved onto the movie that Jughead had planned as the two of them remain sitting there, just speaking occasionally as they drink their wine and snack on their munchies.

At present, Jughead has wrapped his arms around his legs, keeping them close to his chest as he leans against the back of the lounge. Meanwhile, Betty puts her glass of wine down and reaches over to the coffee table to dip a chip into the corn relish, as a little reminiscent smile comes to her lips.

"This relish is so good, Jug. It actually reminds me... Want to hear a gross pregnancy story?" Betty asks, glancing over to Jughead who raises a curious eyebrow at her that prompts her to continue speaking once she's downed her chip.

"Well, thankfully I didn't have too many crazy cravings while I was pregnant, but corn relish was one of them. I just craved it with _everything_ I ate. It became like seasoning for any food I ate; toast, cereal, casseroles, ice-cream, anything... The worst was when I put it on top a slice of my mum's pie once... I thought she was going to die with a leg in the air when she saw me do that."

Jughead chuckles, visualising the meltdown that Alice Cooper would be capable of upon witnessing something defile her signature peach and maple pie.

"Funnily enough though, I've tried to give it to Bailey a couple of times and she absolutely hates it."

" _My_ kid hates something edible?" Jughead confirms incredulously, giving her a squinted glance. " _Maybe_ we should think about looking into a paternity test..."

Betty just rolls her eyes, knowing full-well that she had produced the female, blonde version of the man sitting beside her.

After Jughead's tease, the two of them sit in silence, continuing to eat and drink and keep Betty's mind off of her breakup. However, the silence only lasts until she speaks up after glancing over at him.

"Thanks, Jug... Thanks for this. It's nice... And, you know, despite everything that has happened today, it almost feels like a simpler time. Like we're just two fifteen-year-olds hanging out... It's nice feeling like life is simpler than it is, even if it's for just a few minutes."

Jughead reciprocates Betty's little smile. He's glad that he has been able to help her after all that she has done for him, including travelling halfway across the country and being away from their daughter in order to support him and to make sure that he was alright after Doug's death.

"So how are you _really_ doing?"

With a sip of her wine followed by a heavy sigh, Betty glances over to Jughead and meets his eye.

"I'm still feeling a bit sad. I think that deep down, we both saw it coming, but Casey was a really good boyfriend. He was so good to Bailey and I. But, if I'm being honest, more than anything else, I'm just feeling really guilty right now."

"Why?" Jughead asks, drawing the word out as he looks over to the woman beside him, his blue eyes examining her closely.

A long silence follows Jughead's question as Betty deliberates over the idea of answering his question or not. Then, Betty glances up, locking eyes with him for just a mere moment before she flinches away. Looking away, she looks outward at nothing in order to try and fight against looking at him. Her emerald eyes well up with watery tears as Betty exhales a shaky, guilt-ridden sigh, gaining just a little confidence as she looks to him.

"Because Casey was right... Because it _doesn't_ hurt as much..."

Casey Turner was a great man. He was a good guy who Betty cared for immensely. He made her laugh, he looked after her and her daughter and he was just what she needed at a very lonely time in her life. A part of Betty had grown to love the older, sensible and incredibly kind man.

But, Casey was the safe bet.

He was the man she was settling for... He was perfectly 'good enough' in second place _until_ her first choice became an option again. Because, although Casey Turner is many things, one thing he is _not_ is the love of Betty Cooper's young life.

She wasn't putting her whole heart on the line by falling in love with every part of him. She wasn't completely, inexplicably, nonsensically in love with him... She didn't want to be. Because, it had hurt too much too _feel_ _that_ and then _lose_ _that_ with the father of her child.

So, for both Casey and Betty, the short term pain of a breakup was worth determining that they are better as friends, realising that there is a certain barrier standing between him being Betty's first preference.

After all, contrary to the popular opinion that 'near enough is good enough', neither Casey nor Betty would want to resign to that logic in the long-term, neither of them wanting him to have to come in at second place as second best.

Watching her eyes tear up before him, Jughead shuffles a little closer on the ground to Betty from where they're sprawled out with pillows and throw rugs on the floor of her lounge room.

He touches her shoulder comfortingly, before that hand furthers, turning into an entire arm that wraps around her, holding her and comforting her. Then, as he strokes her hair, the two of themselves easing into falling back into old habits from where he is holding her in his arms as she melts into the comfort of him.

Noting her upset, he's not expecting Betty to continue speaking and he's not expecting her to elaborate on what has formed her tears. However, with a croaky voice as a lone tear streams down her cheek, she does.

"Casey was right... It's you. Breaking up with him _doesn't_ hurt as much because he's not **you**. I've always been so completely all-in with you, I couldn't try to be anything else with anyone else. But, being with Casey as well as trying to come to terms with all the pain from our past has made everything so complicated and it's been so painful that it's made everything so blurry. After all, I loved you with everything I had... I loved you with my whole heart and that is terrifying because that doesn't just go away."

He looks down at her, his blue eyes wide with surprise and disbelief. While just seconds ago, she had become caught up in the moment enough to lay her soul bare, she is quick to backtrack at seeing his shock, instilling in her the fact that she'd made a wrong move, quickly springing back from her initial declaration.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said any of that. I'm so sorry. Just ignore the fact that I said anything at all."

His hand moves to her cheek, stopping her from flinching away at her error that she's already crucifying her for.

"Hey, hey..." he reassures her before her doubts set in too deep. "It's only fair, after all. I burdened you by unloading a big, emotional declaration on _you_ so it's only fair that you do the same to _me_ in return."

Both his comment and the smile on his face are light-hearted, but Betty's green eyes are intense with her gaze fixed on him. After all, he's right. He _had_ declared his feelings for _her_ in a bar one night in Oklahoma. And, now, she _has_ declared her feelings for _him_ just mere moments ago.

So, realising the mutual feeling and reciprocation after their individual declarations, Betty feels an unanticipated surge of courage, with absolutely no reason to hold back this time.

Ever so slowly, she begins to extend up to him, her hand coming to rest on his chest as she reaches up to him as he slowly lowers his head in return. Then, finally, after four long, painful years, two pairs of very familiar lips meet once again...

The first touch is soft and gentle, lingering as they savour the moment and appreciate the feeling for as long as they can, as though they're filled with fear at the fact that it may be ripped away from them for another four years.

Then, after a few treasured moments as they relish in the comfort and familiarity of each other, the kiss begins to grow heated and intense, hungering for all the unjust pain and all that has been lost over the last four years, growing deeper and more with every passing second until it's all over once again as Betty pulls away, rasping for air.

"No... No, it's too soon. It's way too much, way too soon. I don't want to jump from one guy to another in a matter of hours. I won't let you be a rebound. And, most importantly, _you_ need to focus on being a dad to Bailey. We need to do this right... We need to do this right, for our daughter."

Her chest still rising and falling rapidly, Betty's eyes are wide and frantic as she tries to convey the message across to Jughead in both her words and her expression.

So as Jughead, nods at her, nodding in understanding, nodding in appreciation of everything she's saying and nodding at every point she's making, it seems to be all for nothing as his head lowers towards hers again. His eyes are just as intense as hers are as he continues to nod while he slowly leans down closer to her once again. She too only draws _closer_ rather than further away from him.

Then, despite their agreement, despite their understanding of what they 'need' to do and despite their words otherwise, when he leans down to press another kiss to her lips, she doesn't hesitate in reciprocating his initiative this time as they quickly pick up with round two.

... They are all too happy to be saying one thing, yet doing another.

Then, it takes absolutely everything within them to pull away and break apart from each other as Betty quickly reaches out for and snatches up the very first thing that she lays her hand on, _a pillow_ , forcing it between them and their bodies in order to break the magnetic attraction that they are both failing abysmally at fighting, losing their battle against.

As he glances down to the decorative pillow that has just been shoved between them as Betty shuffles a little further away from him, Jughead chuckles, looking between her and the pillow.

"A pillow...? _Really_ Betts? Just think, if only we had a pillow a couple years back, we might not have had a Bailey..." Jughead teases, his eyes scrunched up with amusement while he can't wipe the teasing grin off of his face.

Betty's face is serious and the pout on her lips spreads across her face as her eyebrows tighten and furrow seriously.

"I'm serious, Jughead. This is four years of pent up feelings and emotion and we're not thinking with our brains. But we're not just two, carefree sixteen-year-olds anymore. We aren't just kids... We _have_ a kid. Bailey needs to be our focus and we need to concentrate on being co-parents before we can even _think_ about being anything else. Besides, I owe it to Casey to show him enough respect and not move on three seconds after breaking up."

Jughead nods, slowly and seriously, the pillow seeming to work wonders for deescalating the mood as he exhales a begrudging sigh.

"No, you're right about that... And, more than anything else, we have Bailey to think about."

* * *

 **Finally! Didn't I tell you all to trust me and to trust that things change quickly? However, while they might have finally kissed and succumbed in the moment seeing as there's nothing and no-one in their way anymore, it's not quite as simple as that. There's still a lot of care and feeling between them, but they're going to have to work through their past and Betty especially will have to learn to trust him again. However, while Bailey is their focus, work on those things they shall... Also, I hope you all enjoyed Bailey's little bit of time with Grandpa FP during her parents little rendezvous, too!**

 **Big thank you's to everyone who left feedback on the last chapter! I am just so grateful for your support! I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter as a bit of a breakthrough in this slow burn at long last. I'd love to know what you think.**

 **Now I am really sorry that this is up later than I had expected but I have had a really rough week with trying to deal with something really horrific that has come completely out of the blue in my personal life. My readers on my other story have been so beautiful and kind with their support and I have every confidence that you all will be, too. Thank you for understanding!**

 **Next chapter: FP quizzes Jughead over his evening with Betty, Betty tries to explain her breakup to Bailey and why does Jughead pay Alice a visit?**


	34. Thicker Than Water

**CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR – Thicker Than Water**

It's late by the time that Jughead returns home from Betty's apartment, after a long day that ended far differently than it had started.

When Jughead had declared his feelings for Betty a few weeks back, things went down like a lead balloon following many drinks, and an emotion-fueled conversation on the day of one of his closest friend's funerals.

Although just yesterday the mother of his child had been someone else's girlfriend, now both Jughead and Betty have declared their feelings for each other.

However, they had mutually decided to concentrate on establishing their friendship, their partnership as parents and establishing his relationship with their daughter. Yet, for the first time in a long time, Jughead feels hopeful and he feels the anticipation for the future; for tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after.

But, for now, Jughead winces when the front door of the trailer creaks threateningly as he slinks into the trailer late that night. With the first hurdle conquered, he slowly creeps into the dimly lit lounge room where his daughter is sleeping on his father's chest. FP too appears to be well on the way to falling asleep himself seeing as the movie they had been watching together is well and truly finished.

However, despite his best effort, Jughead's luck runs out when he trips over one of Bailey's dolls, stubbing his toe in the process with a low yelp of pain.

"Well, well, well..." FP yawns, his voice husky from the threat of sleep as he sits himself up on the lounge a little more without disrupting the sleeping three-year-old who is resting against him. "Walk of shame, hey bud?"

"Hardly..." Jughead retorts with a scoff in the darkened room. His face is still scrunched up in pain as he hops from foot to foot with his stubbed toe.

Then, after hobbling across to the kitchen bench to put his wallet and keys down, Jughead is quick to change the subject with his father.

"How was your night anyway? Was Bailey okay for you?"

FP chuckles to himself as a knowing little smirk spreads to the corner of his lips at realising that Jughead is attempting to move the conversation on. However, the older man humours his son and lets it pass for a moment, making a note to revisit the topic of how _his_ night went, too.

"We had a great time. Compared to you and Jellybean, she's a little angel to look after. Betty's done a good job with that kid, that's for sure" FP says glancing down to his granddaughter in his arms with utter adoration.

Jughead smiles at FP's remark. While it's bittersweet knowing that the responsibility has been solely on Betty for so long, Jughead had every faith in her abilities to raise their child well. After all, Betty was a natural-born mother... For as long and as far back as he can remember, she has been patient and nurturing -a little mother hen- and he was just damn lucky that it's _his_ child that she's raising. He had every confidence in her capabilities of raising their daughter without him, as she had been forced to do for so many years.

"So, how about _you_? How was your night with baby mama?"

"It was a nice night. I was just trying to be a good friend and support her after her boyfriend broke up with her. We talked, ate, watched a couple of movies... It was nice."

FP nods silently, before he raises a single, inquisitive eyebrow at his son from across the darkened room.

"That doesn't really explain the goofy grin you can't wipe off your face, boy..."

With an offended roll of his eyes, Jughead brushes his father's remark off as he walks across the room in a sulk, looking _just_ like his own daughter when she's avoiding something. However, FP's eyes don't shift from watching his son, although Jughead goes about and does a few other things around the trailer preparing himself for bed before he notes that his dad is still watching him intently.

"What... _What?_ " Jughead enquires, fighting off a smile, knowing the answer to his own question and knowing _exactly_ why his father is still looking at him expectantly.

"Come on, out with it, boy. I'm getting old over here."

Jughead rolls his eyes, shaking his head at his father's dramatics. Then, with a coarse chuckle, he surrenders, knowing that much like his younger sister, his father is many, many times more stubborn than he is. Jughead doesn't have a chance at winning out against him and the longer he dodges his father's question, the longer he is just delaying the inevitable.

"Betty and I kissed."

Although he can't help the little grin on his lips simply at the reminder of the evening's events as he says those four words aloud, Jughead looks away and dodges his father's glance as he confesses to the deed. Consequently, he misses seeing the grin on his father's face. FP is _thrilled_ by the potential of his son rekindling with the mother of his granddaughter.

"So who kissed who?"

Jughead's eyes narrow at his father incredulously, shooting him a little glare that reflects his discomfort and his attempted avoidance of the issue.

"Aren't you the regular little gossip girl? I'm not even sure that Betty's girlfriends would even be looking for that much detail."

FP just rolls his eyes at his sons snipe, failing to abort his intended mission as Jughead might have hoped.

"Give me a break. It makes a difference..."

With a sigh of surrender, Jughead's eye contact falls to the ground as he develops a sudden interest in the laminate flooring of the trailer before answering his father.

"Both."

Not quite understanding his son's single word response, FP gives a frustrated and exasperated little sigh before reiterating the very same question to Jughead.

"Yeah, I realise that it usually _does_ take two to tango, but who kissed who?"

"I said _both_... She initiated the first time and then I kissed her the second time."

"Geez, you two little eager beavers... Making up for lost time, hey?" FP smirks, eliciting a little grimace of disgust from his son.

However, FP can't hide the grin on his face at the news, getting a little carried away and a little ahead of himself as he gets little flashes of wedding bells ringing in the future for his son and the woman he loves like a daughter. It's a dream come true for FP.

"Who can't wipe the goofy grin off their face, _now_?" Jughead teases with a chuckle as he watches his father's expression from the other side of the room.

However, the Serpent doesn't succumb to his sons taunts, just rolling his eyes before he raises his next question.

"So what does this mean? Because she's broken up from her boyfriend, right? Does that mean that you two are going to give it another crack?"

Across the room, Jughead shakes his head at FP's question as his glance shifts to his three-year-old who is fast asleep in his father's arms.

"No... We kissed and we both acknowledged that we still have feelings for each other, but that's that. At least for now, we are just going to concentrate on being parents and friends as we focus on Bailey."

"Good God... I wasn't kidding before about getting old. At this rate I'll be in an old folks home before you even get her out on a date" FP says, whining with a furrowed brow over the stagnant speed of progress between the two young adults right when he had thought that things were going to begin powering ahead.

A part of Jughead can't help but agree with his father. But, then he is quickly reminded of the fact that Betty has barely broken up with her boyfriend and he himself is still slowly establishing his relationship with their daughter. So, unfortunately, waiting is undoubtedly the most _logical_ decision for now; something which Jughead goes on to attempt to explain to his father.

"Look, dad, it's not quite that simple. _Yes_ , we're both single. _Yes_ , we both have feelings for each other. _Yes_ , we kissed. But, I left Betty for four years... I broke her heart and I abandoned her with our daughter. It's not like nothing happened and we're still the same people we were four years ago... It's going to take time for me to regain Betty's trust, and that's if I'm even able to. If we gave a relationship another go now, it'd crumble down in the blink of an eye if it's formed of nothing but lust. Not to mention, we have our three-year-old involved in the middle of all of this... So, Bailey is going to be both Betty and I's focus as we try to build our trust and friendship up again."

With a slow and silent nod, FP admires his son and Betty's maturity that is beyond their years, as reflected in their sensible decisions. After all, FP knows that _he_ wouldn't have been able to use even half of that logic at age twenty-one, a point that the older man relays to his son.

"In that case, I think the two of you will make it..."

Across the room, Jughead gives FP a small smile before his focus drops to the ground bashfully. Silence fills the room for a few moments as Jughead walks over to his father and his daughter, crouching beside the lounge that they have crashed on.

In the silence, both Jones men have their eyes on the same little girl as Jughead slowly extends a hand out to stroke his daughter's back, a little smile curling on the corner of his lips.

"I should probably take her to bed..." Jughead sighs, not wanting to disturb his three-year-old as he watches her sleeping peacefully.

Then, while watching his son as he watches his own child, a small smile spreads across FP's lips, seeing the love and adoration on Jughead's face. He _knows_ that face... He knows that feeling of sheer wonder. He knows that feeling of loving your child so much it hurts. He knows the feeling of equal parts disbelief and pride, barely being able to believe your part in creating something so incredible, but feeling so utterly proud that you did... And, looking at his own eldest child, FP knows that very same feeling that he recognises his son experiencing, too.

"It's something pretty special, isn't it, son? _She's_ something pretty special..."

Jughead quickly glances up to his father, the smile on his lips confirming FP's question before his gaze returns to the sleeping three-year-old as he exhales a begrudging sigh.

"I don't want to wake Bailey, but I really should carry her to bed..."

To make the task a little easier for his son, FP presses a kiss to the very top of his granddaughter's wild curls before he shuffles up from where he'd been laying back against the couch as the little three-year-old begins to stir from the sudden movement of her resting place being disturbed. Then, in a quick change over, Jughead picks Bailey up and takes her into his arms from his father.

However, the quick swap-over isn't quite enough as Bailey begins to groan softly, her body growing tense as she squirms around in Jughead's arms before her blue eyes slowly flicker open at the disturbance.

Rocking Bailey in his arms, Jughead endeavours to settle his daughter down again before she wakes up too much. So, he whispers soft and soothing hushes into her ear where his lips are pressed against the blonde locks that are covering the little girl's ear.

"Shhh, Bay... It's okay. You're okay. It's just daddy..." Jughead whispers to his stirring daughter, rubbing comforting circles into her back as he continues to rock her to a steady rhythm within his arms.

At this, Bailey's eyes scrunch closed as she nestles into Jughead, hooking her arms around his neck before she relaxes into his body and the comfort that she finds in him. And, in doing so, his little girl melts his heart even more than she already had.

#

After checking that Betty was up to having their daughter again the day after her breakup, Jughead returned Bailey to her mother just after midday the following day.

Even though the mother and daughter had only been apart for a matter of hours after Jughead had taken their daughter for the night, there were still a lot of hugs and cuddles when Jughead walked their three-year-old back into Betty's home.

Then, after making her little girl a lunch of her choice, Betty sat down beside her junior at the island bench in their small apartment, looking down at her softly before she raises her daughter's attention.

"Bailey-girl?"

Bailey's attention instantly flies to Betty and she looks over to her mother attentively at hearing her nickname.

Then, looking down to her with a kind and warm smile, Betty runs a hand through her daughter's blonde curls as she takes a deep breath, trying to find the most child-friendly way to explain her breakup to a three-year-old.

"Something is going to change a little bit in our life, Bailey. But it's okay..."

Looking up to her mother with silent attentiveness, Bailey's big, blue eyes blink up at Betty as she waits for her to continue speaking and explaining while she nibbles on a cracker, managing to take about seven times the amount of time as it does a normal person to eat it.

"You know, Casey, sweetie?" Betty asks, kicking herself as soon as she has uttered the obvious question. After all she knows that her daughter definitely knows her ex-boyfriend; the man that they would both see just about daily, the man who got along well with the three-year-old.

However, after a nod of confirmation from Bailey that she didn't really need, Betty continues to explain.

"It's a little bit sad, but we won't be seeing Casey very much anymore."

Bailey's eyes remain locked on her mother, observing Betty and her actions after she has uttered the statement, as if being guided by her mother's expressions and reaction. Then, after several moments of silence, Bailey's face falls as she speaks up for herself.

" _Oh_... I like Casey..."

"I know, sweetie. I like Casey, too. He was very kind to us. But, even though we might not see him as much anymore, he is still _your_ friend and he is still _my_ friend, okay?"

Bailey nods in understanding, quickly recovering from the news that doesn't mean all that much to her beyond a handful of words strung together.

"Okay mummy..." Bailey pauses, looking back to her plate before her gaze quickly returns to her mother.

"Can I have grapes too, please?"

#

When Alice answers the door with a little jump from his presence, Jughead _knows_ that she hadn't been expecting a visit from him of all people after hearing his knock on the big, daunting door of the Cooper family home.

After all, the last time that he had visited this very home had done nothing for his self-esteem as his daughter's grandmother berated him, magnifying his every mistake just in case Jughead himself doesn't punish himself enough for his failings in Betty and Bailey's life. So, taking a deep breath, Jughead tries to prepare to present himself as confident and sure to the middle-aged woman who protects her family ferociously.

"The girls aren't here" Alice announces instantly with no greetings or small talk. Instead, she instantly launches into what she believes could be the _only_ reason for her daughter's ex-boyfriend's presence on her doorstep.

"I know that" Jughead replies with a confidence and certainty in his words that wasn't there during the lunch from hell the last time that he had found himself at the very same home. "I've just come straight here from dropping Bailey off with Betty."

At the unanticipated response, Alice Cooper crosses her arms in front of her stiffly, trying not to reveal the fact that she hadn't expected that particular answer from him, only furthering her confident stance in silence as she waits for Jughead to continue explaining the reason why he _is_ here then.

"I'm here because of what you said at lunch the other day."

Alice simply rolls her blue eyes with annoyance, cutting Jughead off before he has a chance to say anything else.

"Don't worry. Betty already warned me against saying anything negative about you, no matter how true it might be..." she says before trailing off, managing to squeeze an insult within her words like only Alice Cooper can.

"... So, congratulations on however it is that you've managed to wrap my daughter around your finger. So much so that she's threatened to cut my time with my granddaughter and she's let her relationship with a decent man just fall by the wayside. Congratulations, Jug-head."

Jughead returns Alice's eye roll that she'd given him a few minutes earlier. Then, after a few moments of silence pass, Jughead takes a deep breath to strengthen and bolster himself up, before looking Betty's mother dead in the eye.

"I am _only_ telling you this to make things easier in the long run. I'm telling you for my daughter's sake, so that half of her family isn't at war with the other half. I'm telling you because I have a feeling that you won't let go of this until you hear it from me..."

Alice listens with her pout fixed firmly in place and her arms crossed as she lets Jughead continue speaking.

"Four years ago I intended to end my own life. I left Riverdale because I didn't want Betty to know that's what I was going to do and I didn't want Betty to blame herself for my decision."

Whatever reason Alice had conjured up within her mind and from her vivid imagination, the reason -the truth- that has just spilled from Jughead's lips is so far from whatever she had in mind...

"Now, none of what I have just told you is even remotely any of your business. I only told you that for the sake of peace. Because, whether you like it or not, Mrs. Cooper, Bailey is Betty and I's daughter and I am going to be in both of those girl's lives for good."

* * *

 **Thank you guys for being so great about my unintended hiatus. I really, really appreciate your kind words and your understanding. I needed a bit of time while everything was fresh but now I'm a little more ready to talk about it. You see, over the new years break, a close friend of mine passed away unexpectedly. It was all very sudden and a few other things made for further complications during that time too so things are just slowly starting to get back on track for me. So, thank you not only for your feedback on my work but even more so, thank you for your understanding at a time when I really needed it.**

 **Now, on a lighter note, I hope you all liked the chapter! I feel like FP is totally the voice of the people in this one, haha. There was a teeny little bit of mother-daughter time thrown in the middle there, too. And, I'd love to see what you all thought of Jughead confronting Alice. Was he right to tell her why he left, even though she didn't really deserve to know the reason why?**

 **Next chapter: A little bit of fluff headed Bughead's (and your) way as Bailey unknowingly brings them just a little closer together. Also, Betty finds another way for Jughead to have more of a role in Bailey's life. Then, B & V have a good old catch up. **


	35. Because I Care

**CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE – Because I Care**

A few days pass by after both Betty's breakup from her boyfriend and her rendezvous with the father of her child.

Just under a week later, Betty finds herself waking up that morning to the soft chimes coming from her phone on her bedside table. While it wakes her up gently, she's surprised that she hadn't woken herself up naturally before that point.

 _Good morning baby mama. How are you doing today?_

The simple message, along with the care and the affection behind the string of words brings a sleepy smile to Betty's full lips and emerald green eyes.

 _Not too bad. Thanks for asking. You?_

Betty has to wait a few moments for a reply. So, she shuffles herself upwards from her position in bed and rests against the bed-head before another little chime comes from her phone.

 _I'm fine, thanks. But unlike other people I haven't been through a breakup in over four years... So how are you doing today?_

A little smile quirks on the corner of Betty's lips, followed by the sigh she exhales at reading the question that he has posed to her. Betty thinks it over before she replies to Jughead's message with a concise response.

 _Next question?_

After all, while Betty is appreciative to have woken up pleasantly to Jughead's sweet message, she is quick to remember the fact that last night she had fallen to sleep with tears in her eyes after coming across a few photos on her phone of herself and Casey in a handful of moments when she remembers feeling blissfully happy with him.

While she can't ignore her feelings for Jughead, just inducing even _more_ guilt in a messy situation, Betty can't deny how happy she had been with her previous boyfriend and she can't ignore how happy he had made her. And, while her love for each man might be incomparable, Betty can't help but question whether or not she's following the right path and doing the right thing by walking away from her relationship with her loving, kind and stable ex so easily. Is following her heart over her head the _right_ thing to do by essentially choosing Jughead over Casey?

Right now, everything is all just a big muddle... Betty can feel the lump growing in her throat from the reminder of her mixed emotions, including the feeling of guilt that is swirling within her.

So, as Betty takes a deep, calming breath, she barely notes the soft chime of her ringtone as another noise catches her attention and her eyes dart upwards to look out the doorway of her small bedroom.

Catching sight of the little blonde child who is rubbing her eyes and taking small steps into her bedroom, the young mother smiles genuinely and brightly as she welcomes her daughter into her room, despite how she had been feeling just mere moments earlier.

"Good morning, baby!"

After her greeting, Betty throws her arms out warmly and openly to her daughter, noting the little smile on Bailey's face as her speed picks up and she eagerly climbs and crawls over to her mother's side on the bed. Within seconds, Bailey collapses into Betty's arms, snuggling into the comfort of the side of her mother's body, with her head resting on her arm.

"Morning mummy" Bailey greets sleepily, shuffling and snuggling into Betty on her bed.

With a smile on her face as she brings Bailey closer into her side, the young mother peppers loving kisses to the top of her daughter's head. Almost everything that had been overwhelming her just a few moments earlier is far from her mind as she enjoys the moment of snuggling up with her daughter.

"How'd you sleep, Bailey-girl?"

"Good, mummy" Bailey answers succinctly, keeping it brief as she releases another little yawn from her lips.

Much like her father, the three-year-old isn't much of a morning person. Rather, she takes a little while to wake up and warm up for the day ahead. So, the mother and daughter lay there in silence for a little while, with Betty's phone long forgotten about now that her baby is in her arms.

As Bailey slowly begins to wake a little more, she shuffles from her spot in Betty's arms just a little, in order to reach up and out for a few small pieces of her mother's hair. The little girl gently plays with and runs her thumb over the locks of blonde hair that are so much like her own golden curls.

However the serene moment of peace and silence is interrupted by the gentle chime of Betty's ringtone once again. The tones alerts her to another message that Jughead has sent, seeing as she had failed to answer him in an imperative moment of their discussion after Betty was interrupted and distracted by their daughter. This time though, Betty hears the chime of her phone again and her daughter does too.

Given the fact that more often than not Betty has her phone set to silent mode, Bailey doesn't recognise the noise in the room as her little face scrunches up with a serious frown.

"What's that noise, mummy?"

"It's just my phone" Betty explains soothingly, pressing a kiss to her daughter's hair before reaching out and glancing at her new messages. "It's your daddy talking to me."

 _You okay? Do you want to talk about it?_

 _Betts? You there? Are you okay? Whether you care to elaborate or not doesn't matter, would you mind just confirming you're okay..._

Reading over the messages, Betty chuckles to herself, noting the concern evident in Jughead's texts.

 _Sorry, all good. I just got distracted by morning cuddles with a little lady._

When Betty puts her phone back down, she notes her daughter watching her movements intently, especially as she puts the phone away from them again with a little disappointment.

"You're talking to daddy?! Can I please talk to daddy?"

Occasionally Bailey will ask to send a message when she sees her mother on her phone, especially if she's talking to her family or close friends who Bailey knows well. Usually Betty will preface her daughter's message before handing her phone over and giving the three-year-old free rein as she typically forms little emoticon-riddled texts, occasionally typing her name or a form of it seeing as she has just recently learnt how to read and write her own name.

So, Betty hands her phone over to her daughter willingly, allowing her to send her father a message or two. However, the fact that page is open to her text conversation with Jughead doesn't seem to suffice or impress Bailey as she looks up to her mother with a little pout.

"No, can I please _see_ daddy in your phone?" Bailey requests politely, clarifying her initial request with Betty. After all, the three-year-old had grown quite familiar with and accustomed to video calls and FaceTimes several times a day while her parents were away in Oklahoma just a few weeks earlier.

Betty takes her phone back from her daughter and quickly types another message out to Jughead, after skimming over his reply to her last message.

 _Hey are you decent? If it suits you, Bailey wants to FaceTime._

Rather than receiving a reply to Bailey's question, after just a few moments, Jughead's face pops up on the screen of Betty's phone. Instantly, their daughter releases a little squeal of joy at seeing her father's moving profile through the device.

"Daddy! Daddy! It's my daddy!"

Smiling to herself at her three-year-olds delight, Betty quickly accepts Jughead's call before immediately handing her phone to her daughter.

"Good morning sweetheart. How did you sleep, Bay?"

"I sleep'd good, daddy. Did you?"

From where she sits beside Bailey and intentionally positions herself just out of the frame, Betty smiles at seeing the grin on Jughead's face as he converses with their daughter.

"I did too, thanks Bay. But do you know how _I_ woke up this morning?"

Bailey shakes her head as she looks into the phone, looking at her dad, with her attention caught and her eyes filled with intrigue. She is fixated on learning the answer to Jughead's question.

"How, daddy?!"

"Well, I had a visitor come and race in and jump on the bed and give me a big slobbery kiss - all over my face! And do you know what that visitors name was?" Jughead asks, watching Bailey's smiling face as she listens to his story intently, shaking her head again at his question to prompt him to continue speaking. "Hot Dog!"

The big reveal marks a tipping point in the conversation for little Bailey as she bursts out loud with laughter and little giggles at hearing her father's recount and story. Their daughter's evident joy brings warm smiles to both her parent's faces as well as one watches her through the phone and the other looks down beside her.

Then, as her giggles slowly draw to an end, Bailey shuffles around on her mother's bed, making herself comfortable as she collapses back down into Betty's arms, shifting the camera as she does so, catching Betty in the frame as she groans and covers her face at being included in the video message that she was trying to avoid.

"Oooh no, Bailey... Just you, not me" Betty explains with an uncomfortable grimace, holding her hand out in front of her face.

From the other side of the phone, Jughead grins at watching the interaction between mother and daughter after the quick flash of Betty.

"Morning Betts..."

"Hey Jug" she replies, cowering away from the camera although Bailey is still resting within her arms.

After her parents brief good morning, Bailey quickly turns the phone back to herself, recalling the story that her father had told her just minutes earlier about the way in which he had woken up that morning.

"Daddy? Where's Hot Doggie? Can I please say good morning to Hot Doggie, too?"

Jughead grimaces a little before replying to his daughter, knowing that he can't give her the answer that she wants in response to her request.

"Sorry bub but Hot Dog's not here right now. Grandpa took him out for a walk a few minutes ago."

"Oh..."

You can hear Bailey's disappointment in the one word that she utters, along with the little expression that follows it as she gives a small nod of understanding. However, it doesn't last for very long before she cheers herself up with a little gasp of exclamation at an idea and resolution that comes to her.

"That's okay! I'll say good morning to _my_ Hot Doggie!" Bailey explains, handing Betty's phone back to her before jumping off the bed and racing out of the room, headed for her own. She's on a mission to find her soft animal that she sleeps with each night, the toy that used to be her father's, and the toy that her grandfather's dog was named after.

As Betty fumbles with her phone, she tries to find a good angle. After all, she wants to avoid being included in the frame, without leaving her phone plonked on her quilt for him to have to enjoy the view of the ceiling in her room. However, Betty is interrupted as Jughead speaks up again.

"Resilient little kid we've got there, Betts. I'm proud of her."

"Thank God" Betty chuckles breathlessly. "I mean, I desperately hope not, but if Bailey has to go through even _half_ the stuff that we have, she's going to need all the resilience she can get..."

While Betty's remark had been a little fearful for their daughter's sake, Jughead's response is quick and certain.

"But she won't. We'll make sure of it."

His words form the little smile that curls on the corner of Betty's lips.

"Yeah, you're right... We _will_ make sure of that."

The two of them are connected through the small screens of their individual devices as the two of them share a smile and a resolve over their daughter, bonded by their mutual love and desire to protect their three-year-old.

Then, Betty seems to remember the fact that she didn't want to be seen quite so early in the morning by anyone other than her daughter, flinching at the screen as she angles the small selfie camera away from herself.

"Sorry, got distracted for a moment there. I won't put you through having to see _that_ quite so early in the morning..." she explains, keeping the camera away from herself, but at an angle where she is still able to see the screen and watch the man on it.

"I don't know what you're worried about. You look beautiful, Betts."

Betty exhales a nervous little chuckle at the compliment, the screen slowly beginning to bring her into view a little, just in time to see the light blush that spreads across her cheeks.

"I was so _not_ fishing for compliments, but thanks..."

Jughead gives her a little smile before they fall to a brief silence. Their daughter is still out of the room, nowhere in sight as she hunts for her soft animal in her own bedroom. While the silence is not as comfortable as it could be for the two of them, it is not especially awkward during the time before Betty speaks up.

"Hey, look, I'm working tomorrow and I normally take Bailey with me to work. Pop Tate has a little staff area out the back where he lets her just watch cartoons and play while I work, or she sits out a booth where I keep an eye on her. But, if you'd like to and if you feel up for it, you're welcome to take her if you wanted to spend a little time with Bailey while I'm working."

Betty sees the burgeoning smile on Jughead's face before she hears his response.

"I'd love to look after her tomorrow. Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"She's your daughter too, Jug. While I might call the shots for the time being, you do have just as much right to be with her as I do."

Her words bring another smile to Jughead's face. This time it's smaller, but deeper, with the feeling evoked being _felt_ rather than _seen_.

"Thank you, Betty. I don't deserve a smidgen of the mercy you have shown me."

#

After their lazy morning that began with text messages, cuddles in bed and video chats, Betty and Bailey headed to the Andrews home a little later on that day. Betty and her daughter had been invited over to catch up and hang out with her best friends.

Upon the girl's arrival, Archie quickly swooped in and volunteered himself as a babysitter, wanting to solidify his position as being preferred over his wife in Bailey's eyes. So, as the little girl and big kid set off to play together, it left Betty and Veronica to have a little time for a decent coffee and chat.

"So what's new?" Veronica asks conversationally, headed straight unearthing for any fresh gossip as she sets a coffee cup down in front of both herself and her best friend.

"Um... Well, Casey and I broke up a couple of days ago..."

Veronica's mouth drops open at her best friend's revelation. She's equally surprised that she's hearing it a few days later as she is about the fact that she's hearing it at all.

"What? Why?! I'm so sorry, B..."

"He, uh, he realised that I still have feelings for Jughead... So, he basically just bowed out and broke up with me."

The look on Veronica's face showcases just about as much surprise as Betty's initial revelation had created. The raven-haired girl hadn't known quite what she was setting herself up for when she asked her best friend the initial leading question, hoping to dig up even just a little gossip.

"Wow... You do? You still have feelings for him?"

Betty's green eyes are cast downwards and she dodges her best friend's intense gaze by running her thumb along the handle of the cup that is sitting in front of her. The young mother nips at her lip uncomfortably in the silence, hesitant to answer her friend's question.

"Yeah, I do..."

After Betty's begrudging confession, Veronica is quick to respond and keep the conversation going. There is a _lot_ that she wants to say to her best friend on the matter.

"He hurt you, Betty. Jughead left you broken and pregnant. I don't know how can you come back from that."

While Veronica's words are blunt and brash, not shying away from the harsh reality of the truth, the Latina is only speaking so indignantly out of care and concern for her best friend.

"He didn't know that I was pregnant, V. Come on, you know that. And, Jughead was going through his own struggles back then. Sure, he made the wrong decision but he thought he was doing the right thing by me and he thought that he was choosing the lesser of two evils."

Nodding at her friend's response and her defence towards the father of her child, Veronica changes the focus of their discussion, narrowing in on the other man this time.

"But I thought things were going good between you and Casey? He seemed so good for you..."

"He was good for me. But, the problem is that he isn't Jughead... It wouldn't be fair for him to have to compete with Jughead and it wouldn't be right for me to try and push Casey to become him."

Once again, Veronica nods at Betty's words before she replies to them. However, while she is still a little hesitant about what her friend is trying to tell her, her face has softened a little more this time, just as she goes on to prove that her stance on the matter has, too.

"I support you, B, but I can't say that I get it. Jughead broke your heart so badly before... I don't know, I want you to be happy, but I just don't want to see you get hurt again."

Betty nods, giving her best friend a small, appreciative smile. Then, the young mother reaches out across the table to take Veronica's hand into hers with a little squeeze. Betty knows that her friend is only concerned about her and she knows that's she's only playing Devils Advocate out of care for her.

Thanks, V. I get it. I really do... Because, yes, I still have feelings for Jughead. But, like you said, he hurt me. I haven't forgotten about that and there's still a small part of me that is always questioning whether or not I can trust him entirely and there's a small part of me that is always worrying that he's just going to up and leave again at the first sign of trouble. _I get it_. After all, I have to trust him with the most important thing in my world."

Veronica exhales a sigh, unable to dispute what she's saying. After all, Betty knows firsthand and she knows better than anyone else does about the pain that Jughead had put her through after leaving town four years ago. And, while Veronica is concerned about Betty, worrying that her friend will be hurt, she can appreciate that that doesn't quite rival Betty's feelings as a concerned mother, fearing that her daughter will be hurt by Jughead just like she was.

In the silence, Betty takes a deep breath, continuing to speak before Veronica has a chance to say anything else.

"Look, I've made mistakes and he's made mistakes. But, I have to give him a chance not only for his sake, but for Bailey's too. He's her dad and it's not fair for her to lose out on him if I continue to judge him for a mistake that he made when he didn't even know that she was a part of the equation."

Once again Veronica slowly nods at Betty's explanation, failing to counter her argument at once again realising that Betty knows best for own situation and circumstances. However, it does not diminish her concerns for her best friend _entirely_. But, she doesn't say anything about that and she doesn't speak up, allowing Betty to continue explaining.

"And as for Jughead and I, _yes_ we both know that we still have feelings for each other, but that is going to be left as it is for the time being. Bailey is our focus right now. I need to learn how to trust him again and I need to focus on ensuring that I can entrust him with our daughter as they continue to become a part of each other's lives."

With yet another nod as she raises her mug to her lips, Veronica takes a small sip before returning the cup to the coaster and speaking up.

"I might not understand it and I might not _agree_ with your decisions entirely, B, but I do trust that you're doing what you think is the right thing and the best thing for you and Bailey."

* * *

 **First and foremost, can I just say the biggest thank you not only to everyone who has read and reviewed the last few chapters, but have also been so kind and understanding over what's been going on for me. I appreciated your kind words and support immensely after my friend's passing. _Thank you._**

 **As always, I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed the little bit of family fluff and classic B &V catch up. Also, let me know if there's anything you'd like to see in this story. I plan and write ahead, but I do what I can to include any requests or things that people would like to see with what I've already planned and written. **

**Next chapter: There's a little bit more progress between Betty and Jughead. Then, while looking after Bailey at Betty's apartment, Jughead unintentionally comes across a secret of Betty's. What's she hiding?**


	36. Holding Back

**CHAPTER THIRTY SIX – Holding Back**

Jughead arrives at the mother and daughter's home a few minutes earlier than Betty had asked him to. He didn't want to start the day off on the wrong foot by arriving late to spend the day with his daughter seeing as Betty had offered for him to care for Bailey while she was at work, rather than taking her daughter with her as she usually would.

"Hi there, daddy" Betty says with a bright smile as she answers the door in her _Pop's_ uniform, immediately stepping away from the door to allow him to pass and walk inside after her. "Thanks again for doing this, Jug."

"Don't thank me, I'm not babysitting. I'm just looking after my kid. Thank _you_ for letting me."

She loves how grateful he is to have absolutely any role in their daughter's life. And, while she doesn't want him to necessarily feel as though he is at her mercy to be involved in Bailey's life, she _does_ appreciate his appreciation for being in their little girl's life and the way he doesn't take even a moment with her for granted.

"So where's our little human?" Jughead asks, looking around the open kitchen, living and dining area of Betty's apartment with no three-year-old in sight.

"She's just playing in her room. Barbies, I think" Betty explains to the man beside her before bellowing out over her shoulder and into her small home. "Bailey! Come and have a look at who's here to see you..."

There's a brief silence before the pitter-patter of little feet are heard racing along the floorboards and through the apartment.

"Daddy!" Bailey squeals, launching herself into her father's arms as she catches sight of the familiar raven-haired man who holds his arms out and open to her.

"Hey ratbag" Jughead smiles as he holds his daughter's body in his arms while they cuddle each other.

"I'm _Bailey_ " his daughter corrects, suddenly bolting up from their embrace and looking him straight into his blue eyes with her own that are an identical shade as she hooks her hand over his shoulder to keep her in place as he holds her in his arms.

Jughead chuckles at Bailey's reminder, forgetting that to a three-year-old being called anything _other_ than your own name warrants the belief that your name has been forgotten.

"Sorry, Bay... Have you been good for mummy?"

Bailey's golden locks that Betty had tied up into to a high pony tail bounce around as she nods her head at her father's question, wearing an earnest expression to match her gesture.

Interrupting the father and daughter, Betty reappears in front of Jughead and Bailey once again, holding her handbag and looking ready for work.

"Look, seeing as you're here early, I might race off a little earlier if that's okay with you?"

"Yeah of course that's okay..."

In her voice and her body language, Jughead can sense Betty's anxiety levels skyrocketing as she stands there in front of them, her eyes darting around the room, checking that she's not forgetting anything as she goes over everything on her mind. The young mother is a little nervous about leaving Bailey on her own with him for only the fourth time and Betty is discreetly trying to ensure that she's relayed all the information to Jughead that she needs to for him to care for their daughter while she's at work.

In order to try and relieve even just a little bit of anxiety, Jughead speaks up, putting a hand on her shoulder to cut her worried thoughts short and focus her attention on looking at him to stop the cycle of nervousness.

"What time do you usually have your lunch break?"

"Usually half past twelve. Why?"

"Well, if you'd like, you might just get some company for your break today..." Jughead replies with a contended little grin. "If it suits you, I can bring Bailey into _Pop's_ and we can have lunch together."

Exhaling a frazzled little breath, Betty smiles in relief at the suggestion, grateful for the idea of seeing her daughter during her lunch break with Jughead's idea being _just_ the distraction that Betty needs in that moment.

"That would be really nice, Juggie... Thanks."

Betty exhales another breath, however this time it is more akin to a sigh of relief than one that indicates her pent-up distress. Then, she smooths her uniform over and moves a little closer to Jughead and their daughter in his arms.

"I better go. Bye you two. Have fun!" Betty smiles as she gives Jughead a quick hug and a kiss on his cheek. Then, she shifts her attention to the little girl in his arms, giving her a bigger, longer hug, before pressing a kiss to the little girl's plump cheek that is a light olive skin tone like her father.

Then, blowing kisses on her way out the door, Betty leaves her apartment and ignores her slight apprehension that comes from leaving the new father with their daughter.

#

After Betty left, Jughead and Bailey played tea parties for far longer than Jughead himself may have liked to as he endured each of his daughter's toys and stuffed animals having 'coffee' slowly and gently poured into their teacup, followed by serving the little pieces of toy food that wasn't real enough for Jughead's liking. But, watching his daughter's delight over the activity pulled him through until she too had finally had enough.

Then, after grumbling that she was hungry, Jughead prepared a little snack of cheese and crackers for them both despite the irony of having spent almost an hour playing with faux food. Not long after nibbling her snack and just about siphoning the water in her sippy-cup, Bailey plonked herself on the lounge, content with Jughead's suggestion to watch a movie and requesting to watch _'The Lion King'_ today.

However, after putting the disc into the player, Jughead runs into a spot of trouble when the older TV refuses to change to the disc from the panel on TV itself. Jughead has _no_ idea where minor things like remote controls for the TV are kept in the small apartment that is still not quite familiar enough for him just yet.

"Where's the remote for the TV? Do you know where that is, Bailey?"

"I fink mummy puts it in there."

Bailey points from where she's sprawled out on the lounge lazily, directing Jughead towards the cabinet and drawer that is just a little too tall for her little arms and legs.

"... I'm not 'lowed to play with it."

Given the mischievous little grin that Bailey gives her father following her last words, Jughead seriously doubts that that detail stops her.

So, he follows his daughter's suggestion and he begins to lightly rummage through the drawer uncomfortably in what feels like a bit of a privacy invasion.

However, the remote control is _not_ the thing that he finds as he fumbles with a large collection of tri-folded papers instead, with some of which still in their envelopes while others have been pulled out. _All_ of them share a common denominator and one mutual link; the big, red words 'OVERDUE' or 'FINAL NOTICE' that are plastered all over them...

As he realises more about the extent of Betty's struggles and the weight that has been loaded onto her shoulders to carry alone, Jughead utters two words under his breath with a sigh, feeling his heart break for her.

"Oh Betts..."

#

After Betty had offered if Jughead wanted to spend the day caring for their daughter while she worked, he had checked what time she typically has her lunch break, arranging for himself and Bailey to meet up with her for the three of them to have lunch together.

It's approaching noon when the little, blonde three-year-old races into _Pop's_ with her father trailing behind her. Betty is on the other side of the room, offering refills when she catches sight of the father-daughter duo entering the establishment.

"Bay! Wait for me!" Jughead bellows out as Bailey rushes into her mother's workplace, her second home.

The little girl enthusiastically races over to the counter where she decides that she wants to sit, making the decision on behalf of herself and her father as she stands by the stool and waits for him to help her up onto the seat that she can't quite reach on her own.

As Jughead catches up and reaches the booth that Bailey is waiting at, she throws her arms up and out to him, signalling that she wants to be picked up and placed onto the stool that she's a little too short to pull herself up onto.

"Thanks!" Bailey grins as Jughead quickly picks her up and places her onto the stool with a kiss to the top of her blonde locks, checking that she's okay up there and doesn't think that she'll fall off.

Meanwhile, as she floats from table to table, slowly making her way over to the counter in the center of the diner, Betty watches their interactions from afar, noting how comfortable her little girl is with her dad. It's almost like she's known him all her life.

After settling Bailey on her seat, Jughead takes his own on the stool beside her. Then, he leans over to his daughter as he pulls his wallet out of his back pocket, planning to buy lunch for them both and order something for Betty.

"Now what would you like for lunch, little miss?"

"My name's Bailey! Not little miss!" Bailey protests with a little pout that Jughead can't help but smile at, reminding him so much of her mum.

"I'm sorry, _Bailey_. Now, what would you like for lunch?" Jughead clarifies, enunciating his daughter's name for emphasis this time with a little smirk.

After he utters the same question again with the key difference, Bailey brightens up cheerfully, forgetting that she'd been a little annoyed with her father just moments ago as she answers his question.

"I want chicken nuggets and chippies, please" Bailey requests, receiving a nod from her father as he waits for Pop Tate to finish taking the order of another person who is seated further down the bench before trying to catch his attention to take theirs.

However, just as he goes to glance around the room, looking for Betty as they waits, Jughead's attention is caught by the woman who he hadn't noticed on the stool beside him, but the woman distracting him from trying to spot the mother of his child.

"Your sister is adorable."

Jughead gawks for a moment, looking at the girl on the stool beside him, then turning in his daughter's direction to check if she had been looking beyond him and talking to someone other than him but no, _no she had not._

"My, uh, my-" Jughead stutters as he tries to wrap his head around the misunderstanding, whilst juggling his answer to it as he looks between his daughter on the stool beside him and the woman with bubble-gum pink hair sitting next to him.

"Uh, _thanks_ , but she's not my sister... She's actually _mine_. As in _daughter_ -mine, not sister-mine."

The woman chuckles as she witnesses a clearly stumped Jughead sitting beside her, trying to make sense of and rectify the misunderstanding.

"Well, she's still beautiful... Takes after her dad in that case."

This time its Jughead's turn to chuckle as he scratches the nape of his neck uncomfortably, glancing back over to his daughter as he continues to speak. Meanwhile, across the room, a certain blonde watches on intently, crossing her arms in front of her. She fails to suppress her scowl as her blood begins to boil and her stomach churns from within her.

"Thanks, but I can't take credit for that. She definitely got her beauty from her mother. As for the poor girl's nose, ears, scowl..."

Listening to Jughead, the other girl pauses for a moment, smiling after he trails off. Then, she holds her hand out in front of him, strong and confident.

"I'm Toni."

"Hi... Jughead. And this is Bailey."

There's another brief silence before Toni smiles once again, as if she'd been pondering something before making her mind up.

"Look, would you be interested in having a drink together? With your little girl, too, of course, and in that case, I mean a milkshake."

Jughead chuckles as he witnesses Toni being the one to babble this time. Then his expression begins to turn as he slowly shakes his head, wincing.

"Thanks for the offer, but I've actually got plans for lunch" he replies, nodding in the direction of Betty who is standing across the room, stalling uncomfortably as she watches on and witnesses the interaction between Toni and Jughead. However, upon noting two sets of eyes that are glancing over to her, Betty forces a rigid smile that couldn't be further from genuine.

"Girlfriend?"

" _Uh_ , Bailey's mum. It's complicated."

Toni nods slowly, beginning to pull some money out from her bag and place it on the table, preparing to take her leave after being knocked back, while Jughead glances beside himself to check on Bailey who is engrossed with examining the salt and pepper shakers that are sitting in front of her.

"I'll leave you to it in that case. It was nice to meet you Jughead."

Jughead acknowledges her, saying goodbye before his focus is captured by the other woman standing just a few metres away. He notes the fact that she is watching their interaction with her arms crossed in front of her as she slouches against a bench. Looking over to Betty, Jughead nips at his lip to suppress his smirk that is wanting to break through after he notes the exact same pout on Betty's lips as Bailey had worn just after they arrived at the diner.

Then, in a final, quick exchange before Toni walks off, Betty trails over with her arms still crossed in front of her tightly.

"Would you guys mind if we have lunch in a booth instead of at the bench? I get customers asking me for orders and refills during my lunch break when I'm sitting in my uniform, in the middle of the room."

While Betty's talking more so to Jughead, she is looking straight at Bailey, Her daughter opens her arms out to her with a delighted smile as Betty walks over and picks her little girl up, hugging her before Bailey settles on her hip, nestling into her.

"Missed you, mummy" Bailey mumbles as Betty presses a kiss to the top of her daughter's golden locks, giving her a warm smile and a tight squeeze from within her arms.

"I missed you too, baby" Betty replies softly, speaking gently into her daughter's hair as she carries her across the room and into a quieter corner. She takes a seat in the most concealed booth with Jughead following suit behind them, taking a seat across from the girls as Bailey sits cradled in Betty's lap, cuddling into her mother.

Then, noting Bailey's marginal sleepiness as she rests in her arms looking quite subdued, Betty turns to her daughter's father, asking him about the morning that he had spent with her.

"Hey, did she have a nap this morning, Jug?"

The raven-haired man shakes his head in response to Betty's question.

"Nah... I thought she was going to conk out during ' _The Lion King_ ' but right as she was dozing off, that stampede part started. That upset her a bit and she wanted cuddles."

While it had hurt him seeing his little girl upset, a little smile settles on the corner of Jughead's lips. After all, it had turned out to be a bittersweet experience for the young father as he remembers his daughter nestling into him, hiding her face into his chest and clutching onto the edge of his 'S' shirt as she squirmed and winced at the scene while he juggled comforting her with failing to use Betty's remote to skip past the scene.

"By the time that she calmed down after that bit, she seemed to have caught her second wind and didn't seem interested in sleeping."

Looking down at their daughter with a little smile, Betty leans down and presses another quick kiss to Bailey's forehead, knowing her three-year-old's distress in what is still one of her favourite movies.

"She really does hate that bit."

"Doesn't everyone?" Jughead retorts with logic that Betty can't argue with, nodding as she succumbs to his argument. However, she is simultaneously trying to fight back her little smile at his remark, reminding herself that she's not impressed with him,

Then, rather than give him the silent treatment and force him through guessing games, Betty comes right out with what else is on her mind, spewing out her frustrations with Jughead.

"I can't believe you used our daughter to flirt."

" _I_ didn't..." Jughead retorts, firmly, looking the woman sitting opposite him straight into her enchanting emerald green eyes. "... _Toni_ used our daughter to flirt."

Betty watches him intently for a few moments as she studies him and his expressions that she knows so well before she feels convinced of the truth and continues speaking.

"What did _she_ say then?"

"Apparently Bailey's beautiful, like her dad."

As Jughead smirks to himself, Betty glances up at him and there he sees it again, the return of _that_ pout. _Their_ pout... Betty and Bailey's pout.

"Well, _I_ could have told you that..." Betty mumbles softly, barely loud enough for him to catch what she's saying. She dodges his glance as the smirk pricks on Jughead's lips.

"That's funny. Because I actually told her that she got her beauty from someone else..."

Betty's eyes flicker up momentarily, catching his kind blue ones for a mere moment before she glances away again. The smallest of smiles is unable to be hidden from her lips as her cheeks flush pink.

Thankfully a moment of respite comes as Pop Tate strolls over, taking the order from the man who had been his best customer throughout his teenage years, along with his waitress who is on her break.

Jughead orders a burger with a double side of chips, before ordering Bailey her request of chicken nuggets and chips. Meanwhile, Betty requests a chicken Caesar wrap and the two girls get milkshakes while Jughead orders himself a black coffee.

After Pop Tate leaves their table, Jughead and Betty sit in silence for a few brief moments before he exhales a heavy sigh, feeling the weight on his chest and the guilt of what he needs to discuss with the woman sitting opposite him who is holding his daughter.

"Betty? I wasn't snooping this morning, I promise. Bailey asked me to put a movie on and I asked her where she thought you kept the remote so I looked through a few drawers that she told me that she thought that it was in..."

Betty flinches, glancing away uncomfortably, nervous about any direction that this conversation _could_ go in as she bites on her bottom lip.

While the bills that were plastered in red words were new to Jughead, Betty on the other hand knows them all too well. In fact she can't remember back to a time when her bills _haven't_ been adorned with fierce, red reminders.

The load that she's carrying on her own had intensified just a little more lately, too. After all, when she had a boyfriend working at the bank, without engaging in anything dodgy, Casey had often been able to wrangle Betty generous extensions on her loan repayments to buy her a bit of time to juggle her other bills. However, since their breakup, that is something that Betty most certainly had not felt at liberty to mention to her ex.

As he exhales another heavy, guilt-ridden sigh, his glance on her softens, a little sadly, before he lowers his voice gently and empathetically as he reaches out to her.

"I saw the bills..." Jughead begins, remembering all the flashes of red that he'd seen across the bundle of unpaid bills. "Why didn't you tell me you were having financial problems, Betts?"

"Because it's _my_ problem. Besides, it's nothing new. I can't remember _not_ having to play leap frog with overdue bills and debts."

Jughead looks down guiltily before his blue eyes return to her green ones earnestly.

" _Because_ you've had to raise my kid on your own for the last three years and since you were in high school."

Betty opens her mouth to begin to counter his argument, knowing that while it may be the truth, Jughead is beating himself over the head with it. However, he jumps in first, holding a finger up to signal at her to remain silent as he jumps back in and continues speaking.

"Doug left me money... I want to clear your debts. I want to support you and Bailey financially, Betts. In the very least I owe you three-and-a-half years worth of child support. You shouldn't have to be working two jobs while juggling raising Bay in order to not even get ahead but just to stay afloat and stop yourself from drowning."

Betty watches the man on the other side of the booth in silence for a few moments, rocking their daughter within their arms before she eventually speaks up with a small smile.

"Thank you, Jug... That's a very kind offer. I'll think about it, okay?"

Betty's question is presented with an answer that she hadn't been expecting as he shakes his head at her.

"I owe you child support for Bailey, Betts. _That's_ non-negotiable. But, I do want to make life just a little bit easier than that for you, too. After everything, that's the very least that I can do."

Betty glances down and away from Jughead's intense gaze, intimidated by the idea of having to accept help.

"Thank you, but I'm not a charity case... Bailey and I are coping. So, just let me think it over, okay? We'll talk about it."

Jughead is about to reiterate his responsibility to her and tell her that no one thinks of the strong young woman who had to grow up so much faster than her peers as a charity case. However, Jughead's attention is snatched up and torn away from what he had been about to say as he draws Betty's attention to the very same thing that has stolen his.

"Hey, Betts... Look at that" Jughead remarks, looking over to the three-year-old who has just fallen asleep on her mother's lap and as Betty too follows his gaze, her face erupts into a smile at the sight of their daughter fast asleep in her arms.

" _See_... When you see that, when you see _her_ , it's all worth it... It's all worth it for our baby" Betty explains, exhaling a sigh as she gently runs her fingers across Bailey's cheek, stroking her skin ever-so softly.

The young parents share a smile before Betty breaks it, reading the clock in the corner of the room to check on how much time she has left of her shift before reaching across for her milkshake glass.

After taking a brief sip, Betty exhales a little sigh in the silence between them, slowly adjusting the sleeping three-year-old in her arms as she shifts in her seat a little. However, as she does so, Betty's feet move a little as she readjusts her whole body to find the most comfortable way of holding her daughter.

However, in doing so, beneath the table of the booth that they are sharing, Betty and Jughead's feet accidentally touch. Both of them have the option of quickly shifting their feet away with an apologetic smile at the simple mistake, not knowing where the other person's foot had been beneath the table that they are sharing. Both of them _could_ do that, yet neither of them do...

Instead, their feet stay there, lightly rubbing against each other's shoes and playing footsies as the exes share the smallest smile across the table from each other, reveling in the secrecy of the little moment and the discreet touch.

"So _who_ exactly thought that holding back was a good idea?"

"It's the right thing, Jug."

However, _despite_ her reminder to him, Betty fails to withdraw her feet that are touching his. After all, their legs aren't the _only_ thing growing romantically entangled...

* * *

 **Don't worry, I won't pull a season 2 episode 5 on you guys! Toni starts and ends right about there. Really, there was a couple of people that requested to see Betty get jealous so I was just pulling that in for a chapter. I hope you liked seeing Jug trying to find ways to support Betty as well as the two of them struggling to hold back from each other. I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter!**

 **Now, thank you to everybody who read and reviewed the last chapter. When people take the time to leave me feedback, it absolutely makes my day, so thank you.**

 **Next chapter: More secrets! A simple question from Bailey leads to Jughead discovering a painful secret, further distancing him from someone. Also, there's another flashback! **


	37. A Lesson Learnt The Hard Way

**CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN – A Lesson Learnt The Hard Way**

Day by day, time has slowly passed by and life has continued on.

Over the last few weeks, Jughead has slowly begun to find a routine with Bailey, while slotting into her and Betty's routine and daily life.

Meanwhile, as they focus on their daughter -the paramount and most important factor to them- Jughead and Betty have both been working on putting their own feelings for each other to the side, placing their little girl over themselves as they fight their residual feelings for one another, all the while knowing that the other feels the same way, too.

Not for the first time recently, Jughead has found himself spending the entire day with the mother-daughter duo today. Initially, Betty had invited him over for breakfast pancakes. Then, the two of them took their daughter to the park, followed by getting ice-creams together, then reading a handful of books to the three-year-old on the lounge, before putting Bailey down for her long-overdue day nap, with Betty offering Jughead to stay for dinner with them.

Upon finding themselves with some alone time to kill as two _friends_ now that their daughter is fast asleep, Betty has pulled out the photo albums and scrapbooks. After all, a few times just lately Jughead has asked her about seeing old photos, finally feeling ready to see what he missed out on.

While the young mum seldom enjoys free time, one way that she _does_ spend it is on choosing and printing photos of her and her daughter's life, along with decorating and embellishing the odd page here and there.

In the beginning of the photo album, there are a few short pages that condense some highlights from the first sixteen years of Betty's own life, including a few appearances from Jughead. However, the photo album _really_ begins with the photo that comes twelve weeks after the photos from Jughead's seventeenth birthday party, ten weeks after the photos of homecoming when Jughead left a broken-hearted Betty. _Really_ , the photo album begins with the twelve week ultrasound picture of a fetus.

Then, as he turns the pages one by one, Betty leans a little into Jughead in order to look over his shoulder at the photos and memories of her life that she knows well.

As they look over the majority of the photos early in Betty's pregnancy and for approximately the first four months after Jughead left, her growing stomach is barely evident in the photos and is very easily disguised or hidden by a particular outfit or a certain angle.

Turning the pages, time rolls on throughout Betty's pregnancy many, many times faster than it did for her when she was experiencing it in reality. Among these photos of the normal seventeen-year-old girl's life, there's another ultrasound photo that is far clearer and easier to identify than the first. Then, in the other photos on that same page, Betty seems to be on the other side of the camera. This continues on for the following few pages, showing pictures of the small nursery that she had set up for Bailey, pictures of her newborn niece and nephew, a few photos of her friends, followed by photos of the decorations, set up and group of people at her baby shower.

Turning the page, Jughead is presented with a number of posed pictures that showcase her baby belly. Several appear to be from her baby shower as she poses alone cradling her baby belly, then with her mum, her sister, the both of them and then Veronica.

Then, on the very bottom of the page there's a single picture that her mother had taken of a hot, bothered and enormous Betty just a few days before she gave birth to Bailey.

Jughead's breath hitches. It's the first time that he's really seeing the physical evidence of her carrying their daughter for nine months. It's confronting.

After all, it's the same Betty that he left, it's the Betty that he knew, it's the Betty that he spent thinking about and picturing during his four years away and yet here he is looking at _that_ Betty who even with the smile on her face looks so young, so scared and so pregnant with their baby. She looks way too young to be in the state that she was in, thanks to him.

"I'm so sorry, Betty... You were so young. You were way too young to have to do that, to be pregnant, especially all on your own... I am so sorry."

Betty gives Jughead a sad smile. She appreciates his apology. She knows he means it. She appreciates the fact that he's here, now. But, Betty can't forget the way she felt throughout those photos and over the last four years. She can't just brush it off as no problem and no big deal.

"Thank you. I know you're sorry. I know you would have been there if you could... I wish you were."

Betty sighs heavily and Jughead tries to swallows the lump of guilt that is growing in the back of his throat. Then, glancing at the photo album where the smile on her face doesn't quite reflect the way that she felt, Betty speaks up somberly.

"It wasn't easy. Every day I asked myself whether I was doing the right thing for me, for Bailey... Some days it felt impossible. Some days it _still_ feels impossible. But, those days pass and slowly I've gotten through it..."

Betty gives Jughead the smallest of smiles as she reaches across him, closing the space between them that little bit more before she turns the page and continues speaking.

"... And without those bad days, you don't get the really, really good days like _these_."

Jughead turns his attention from watching Betty intently as he had been, to looking to the page that is out and open in front of him.

This page is almost entirely covered with photos from the day Bailey was born. It's filled with photos of the tiny newborn taken at almost every angle, featuring several with the mother and daughter together, followed by one with her maternal grandparents and then lastly a photo with Jughead and Betty's friends holding their baby.

Betty watches as the smile on Jughead's face grows as he examines each page intently, studying it before moving onto the next as he sees little tiny snippets from their daughter's life that he had missed out on.

They sit like this in silence as Jughead closely examines each page of the photo album before turning to the next while Betty's gaze flits between the page and him. However, after doing so for several minutes, Jughead stops on one page in particular for a little longer than all the others, as his attention is fixed on one photo...

It's actually one of Betty's favourite photos of her daughter. It's a beautiful picture of Bailey at around age two, one that Betty had taken during one of many visits to the playground.

The little girl is looking up at her mother who's holding her phone or her camera –whatever she used on the day- wearing the biggest grin that just radiates across her face, reflecting her absolute delight in that moment. It's the sort of photo that you can't help but smile at.

Then, as Jughead turns to Betty, catching her watching him with a little smirk, Jughead quickly glances back at the photo album and the one photo in particular that has inspired Jughead's statement that follows.

"We made her, Betts."

A little swarm of butterflies madly swirl through Betty's stomach just from Jughead's four, simple words that leave her swooning.

"That we did, Jughead Jones" is all that Betty manages to gently utter with a soft smile to the man beside her.

"It's crazy how two reckless teenagers could make something so, damn incredible. Bailey was one hell of an accident..."

Betty giggles at Jughead's manner of putting their daughter's existence in a way that is so blunt, yet filled with so much affection.

Then, just as she opens her mouth to reply, the young mother is silenced by the familiar sound of tiny footsteps trailing down the hallway and into the kitchen as a little blonde girl, the perfect blend of the two young adults who are sitting in the lounge room together, comes out, looking for her mother.

"Mummy?"

"I'm down here, baby" Betty coos gently, poking her head out from where she and Jughead are sitting side-by-side on the floor of her lounge room, surrounded by photo albums.

Immediately the little girl heads for Betty, developing a tunnel vision focus on her mother's open arms.

"Did you have sweet dreams, beautiful girl?" Betty asks gently as she whispers into Bailey's hair.

Betty feels her daughter's silent nod in response as she slowly wakes up from her sleepy state. So, knowing that Bailey takes a little while to wake up and warm up from a nap, Betty doesn't ask anymore questions, just holding her daughter while she rocks her in her arms.

Once again, Jughead leans over and whispers into Betty's ear as he reaches out to gently ruffle their daughter's hair with a little grin.

"We _made_ her."

#

After gradually waking up from her nap, it's not long at all before Bailey is back to her bright and cheery self as she sits there with her parents.

Upon realising that the photo albums are out on the lounge room floor surrounding her parents, Bailey insists that they keep looking through them. After all, it's something that the little girl enjoys doing, even on her own. In fact, quite frequently Bailey would pull out the books and albums that are far too big for her, hauling them onto her lap as she flips through the pages, trying to spot familiar faces or giggling with a touch of narcissistic delight upon seeing her own face appearing on a recurring basis throughout the photos.

Sitting there watching as the three-year-old flips through the happy snaps and points out herself, her mother, her beloved Grandpa, her Aunty V and Uncle Archie, her other set of grandparents, her Aunty Polly and her cousins, Betty notes one notable absence from the photos, knowing that the only photos of Jughead are from the short collection of photos from Betty's pre-Bailey years.

"I need one of you and her in here" Betty whispers to the man beside her with a nudge. "Maybe one of the three of us might be nice, too."

Jughead smiles at Betty's suggestion despite her knowledge of his utter disdain for photos of himself.

After Betty's comment, the three of them continue looking over the old photos together for a little while with Bailey adding the occasional commentary or remark. This continues for half an hour or so before something on a particular photo stands out to the little three-year-old, prompting a question that has just occurred to her.

"Do mummies and daddies have a mummy and daddy?"

Betty is the first to answer her daughter as she looks down to the little girl whose big, blue eyes are looking between her parents in search of the answer to her question.

"Yeah, Bailey-girl... Your Nanna and Granddad are _my_ mummy and daddy."

Bailey nods at her mother's answer before turning to her father.

"Do you, daddy?"

"Your Grandpa is _my_ daddy, silly... You knew that" Jughead teases gently, reaching out to gently tickle the little girl's belly.

Bailey giggles for a moment after Jughead's tickle before she returns to her initial question, seeking furthe clarification.

"And do you have a mummy?"

"Of course I do... But my mummy lives very, very far away from here with my little sister. Maybe one day you can meet them."

Bailey, ever the little social butterfly, smiles brightly at the idea and her father's suggestion before returning to her photo albums. Jughead too returns his attention to the photos that he's seeing for the second time today, but not before noting the puzzling look on Betty's face.

After all, as she exhales a sigh and bites the corner of her lip, Betty's mind is elsewhere as she casts her thoughts back to the day when she waited until both of her parents were out of the house before she crept downstairs and took a seat beside her families landline phone...

 **A little over four years ago...**

 _Listening to the dial tones that leaves her on edge and growing that little bit more nervous and apprehensive with every ring, Betty can **feel** the knot in her stomach rapidly continuing to grow and intensify. _

_To distract herself, Betty fidgets with the small piece of paper that she had transcribed the contact details of Gladys Jones onto when FP had relayed his exes details to Betty through his prison cell upon one visit._

 _As she sits and waits nervously, Betty thumbs the piece of paper in her fingers, folding it over and over again as she forms little creases into it._

 _Then, Betty feels her chest seize up and her heart pound to a nervous beat as the rhythm of the phone ringing is interrupted by a single word from a voice that Betty hasn't heard in several years._

" _Hello?"_

" _Hi, Mrs. Jones..." Betty begins. While she would go on to continue speaking and explaining, her voice comes out short, fading away before she has a chance to continue talking beyond her initial three words._

" _Who is this?" is the speaker's initial question, coming out a little blunt as Gladys tries to recognise the voice in three short words while feeling a little thrown by the title that she has just been addressed as. After all, Betty is not to know that Gladys Jones had slowly reverted to using her maiden name roughly eighteen months ago._

" _My name's Betty Cooper... I don't know if you remember me...You know my parents, Hal and Alice Cooper. I'm Jughead's girlfriend."_

 _The last comment surprises Betty herself as the title that she refers to herself by slips from her lips, addressing herself as Jughead's other half despite not having seen the boy that she loved and the boy who left her in over four months._

 _Then, while just moments ago Betty couldn't get more than three words out before losing her voice and her nerve, now Betty begins to babble on nervously, spewing out all the information and the detail she can as she hopes that at least one thing will jolt a connection in the middle-aged woman's mind and she can move onto the reason behind her call. However, Betty is oblivious to the fact that she had succeeded in her mission from the moment that she uttered her name._

" _I know who you are, hi Betty. How can I help you?"_

 _Gladys asks over the line, finding the most tactful way to cut to the chase and find the reason behind **why** the young girl is calling her out of the blue._

" _I'm sorry for calling... Mr. Jones gave me your number, I hope that's okay. Firstly, I was just wondering if you've seen or heard anything from Jughead since he left Riverdale?"_

 _Betty knows that FP has relayed the fact that previously Gladys had told him that she hadn't seen or heard anything from their son since his abrupt departure from Riverdale. However, Betty has to begin with that question for her own peace of mind, needing to know if the answer to that question has changed on the very small chance that it has._

" _No, I'm sorry, Betty, but I haven't heard from him. I told his father that I would tell him if I did..."_

 _Betty feels something within her plummet at the smidgen of hope that she had been carrying to hear a different answer is dashed and banished. Then, Betty continues speaking, almost pleading as she implores her ex-boyfriend's mother to share any details she may have on his whereabouts._

" _I'm worried about him, Mrs. Jones, and it's really important for me to find him. So, please, if you know anything..."_

 _There's a sigh across the phone line before the middle-aged woman continues to speak passively._

" _It sounds like he needed a fresh start and a clean slate. And, honestly, I can relate to that. I think moving away may have done him the world of good."_

" _I really need to find him, Mrs. Jones. You see-"_

 _Betty's voice crackles and breaks for just a moment as she feels her hand falling to her stomach that is just beginning to notably swell a little, protectively._

 _It's a habit that she's found herself falling into a number of times just lately. Sometimes it's during the arguments with her parents, feeling as though she's protecting and touching her baby. Then, other times it's as though she's absorbing the comfort that she needs from her baby. Either way, Betty finds herself with her hand back on her belly as she struggles to speak up._

" _... I also called to tell you that I'm carrying your grandchild, Mrs. Jones. I'm having Jughead's baby."_

 _There is a very long pause and silence over the phone. Betty nips at her lip nervously, her thumb rubbing the smallest circles from where it is resting against her abdomen as the grandmother-to-be finally speaks up._

" _Oh..."_

" _Look,_ _Jughead doesn't know about our baby yet. So, I would really, really appreciate knowing if you hear anything from him or if you learn anything about where he is..."_

 _As she trails off, Betty waits out the extended pause, understanding the weight of the news that she has just relayed to the woman over the phone, revealing that she is set to become a first-time grandmother. The , after the extremely long and extended pause_ _, Betty can't take the silence anymore as she speaks up over the phone once again._

" _Mrs. Jones? I also wanted to call to tell you that you and Jellybean are welcome to be involved in our baby's life. In fact, it would mean a lot to me for him or her to have their family in their life... However, I understand that this must come as a really big shock to you, so you're welcome to take some time to think about it, but-"_

 _Betty is cut-off mid-sentence as Gladys speaks up with far more conviction and confidence than she had when she uttered the one, single word after Betty informed her that she's carrying her grandchild._

" _Thank you for the offer, but that won't be necessary. Jellybean and I won't be involved in its life."_

 _Betty can feel her jaw drop and her heart sink as she listens to her unborn baby's grandmother. She hadn't known exactly how Jughead's mother would respond to her news, but nothing had really prepared Betty for what she_ _ **is**_ _sitting there hearing over the phone._

" _Are you sure? You don't have to answer me right away..." Betty tries, hoping for a response that is even just little more gentle and different from Gladys's initial one. However, unfortunately Betty receives no such thing as the other woman speaks up once again._

" _Yes, I'm sure. Thank you for your call, Betty, but my daughter and I are fine as we are and I ask that we have no contact with either of you."_

 _With that, the phone call ends instantly and abruptly, leaving Betty to listen to an outdrawn, beeping dial tone that notifies her that the other caller has hung up, as if she didn't already know..._

 _Feeling her emerald green eyes begin to fill with glassy tears, Betty fights them back, inhaling her sniffle as she sits back on her seat beside the telephone. Her hand is still protectively cupped on her tiny, burgeoning baby belly, hurting for her unborn baby whose father doesn't even know that they exist, along with a grandmother who has rejected the offer of having any contact with them..._

#

"Betty."

Jughead's voice instantly causes Betty to look up and over to him from across the room as he trails towards her where she's chopping bacon for the carbonara as the pasta is brought to the boil in the saucepan beside her.

After Bailey's innocent question, Betty had been quick to find an excuse to flee the room, informing the father and daughter that she might make dinner a bit earlier tonight. However, her quick escape didn't fool Jughead who similarly waited for an excuse which came when he put a movie on for Bailey before following after Betty who had left the room ten minutes or so earlier.

"Something's up, isn't it? What aren't you telling me?" Jughead asks gently as he leans his back against the cupboard right alongside where Betty is chopping busily.

Pausing from her work for a moment, Betty's green eyes glance up at him briefly, assessing the situation, her options and the idea of telling him before she glances away again with a sigh as she continues her chopping in silence.

"Betts, come on... I saw your look when Bailey was asking us about our parents. Is it your mum and dad? What's your mum done this time? Or is it my parents? Has my dad said something to you? What about my mum? Do she and Jellybean even know that we had Bailey?"

Exhaling a sigh of resignation, Betty puts her knife down on the chopping board and washes her hands as she buys herself a little time before returning to the bench that she had been standing at before, turning herself to face Jughead this time.

"It's about your mum, Jug... _Yes_ , she knows that we had Bailey. Because, years ago, I asked FP for her details. When I was about four and a half months pregnant, I called her asking if she had any idea of where you were or if she'd heard from you. Really, I was calling her to tell her that I was pregnant."

Jughead nods, his face neutral as he remains silent. It's as if he senses that there's more to the story and he is trying to prompt Betty to continue explaining. Then, after glancing up to him to analyse his expression with concern, Betty proceeds with her story after ensuring that he was doing okay thus far.

"I wanted to call her because I figured that she deserved the right to know that we were making her a grandma. So, I called her and I asked her if she was interested in having any part in her grandchild's life. I wanted her to know that she was always welcome to be involved in our baby's life."

Jughead's eyebrows begin to furrow seriously as he begins to get a fair idea of what Betty is telling him, managing to draw some fairly strong conclusions. Yet, he clings to the tiny bit of hope that he has left as he looks to her and utters one single word.

"And?"

With a pained sigh, Betty glances up at Jughead as her hand reaches out to touch his arm soothingly in a feeble attempt to counteract what she has to tell him next.

"I'm so sorry Juggie, but she rejected her... While I don't know if your sister knows that Bailey exists, your mum told me that she and Jellybean wouldn't be having any contact with either of us... She didn't want to know Bailey."

Jughead's heart slowly sinks as the little piece of hope that he'd been holding onto is crushed with Betty's explanation.

However, despite what she's said and what she's just told him, he goes to open his mouth and ask another question. Betty knows exactly what is coming next, anticipating his question that he is about to raise and cutting him off before he has a chance to ask it.

She _knows_ that he's looking for some loophole, he's looking for the 'but' and he wants to believe some excuse. Can you blame him? But, while she hates being the bearer of bad news, Betty realises that in this instance clutching at straws is the sort of thinking that does no one anyone favours, nor does sugar-coating the truth of the matter.

"I thought that maybe she was just having a bad day that day, maybe she just needed a bit more time to think about it. So, after Bailey was born, I sent her out this little keepsake card that I'd been giving to people who sent cards and gave gifts as a little thank you. It was just like a little birth announcement card with a photo of Bailey with her details on it. So, even though they didn't send anything, I decided to send two out; one for your mum and one for Jellybean. I also sent my phone number in case she ever changed her mind... Anyway, a week or so later, the envelope turned up in the letterbox again. It had been opened, resealed and then marked return to sender... I'm so sorry that I can't tell you something different, Juggie."

As Betty runs her hand up and down his arm, stepping over the line in order to comfort him in that moment, Jughead's disposition quickly changes from feeling hurt over his mother's actions to seeing red...

Jughead is _furious_.

He's furious with his mother for rejecting him; for taking his sister and leaving him... He's furious with his mother for rejecting his daughter, her granddaughter... He's furious with his mother for rejecting his beautiful little girl, just like she rejected _him_.

#

Jughead tries to suppress his feelings and push them to the back of his mind for the remainder of his night during dinner and dessert and until after he's given Bailey a hug goodnight.

Then, as soon as he leaves the mother and daughter's apartment, Jughead pulls his phone out on his walk back to the trailer as he storms along angrily. He is quick to find the number that he hadn't touched in years, tapping it before holding his phone up to his ear as he waits for the familiar voice to pick up.

"Hi mum. It's me. I'm doing alright. Thanks for not asking" Jughead begins, getting his initial sharp greetings out before his mother barely even has a chance to register who is on the other side of the phone.

Then, Jughead barely allows Gladys to get a 'hello' in before he cuts her off again, continuing to utter his thought-out speech that he'd spent the evening stewing over and preparing.

"I've been talking to Betty today... I know that she was kind enough to offer you the opportunity to be involved in our daughter's life, but consider that offer revoked - for good. You aren't the sort of person I ever want to introduce into my little girl's life when you selectively care about family and you can't give a damn for your son and only granddaughter."

There's the briefest of pauses as Jughead swallows painfully before continuing to speak. There's less anger but more hurt this time.

"I don't get it, mum. I honestly don't know how you could do what you've done... I abandoned my daughter unknowingly. I missed out on the first three years of her life and I don't know if I'm ever going to get over that and be able to forgive myself... I don't know if I _can_. So, I honestly can't understand how you could."

As Jughead takes a breath, Gladys is quick to try to and speak up in response to her son's serving of the cold, hard truth. However, he speaks up and over her through the line, continuing with his speech and getting everything that he feels he needs to say out in the open.

"No, mum... **No**. I don't want to hear your excuses and whatever it is that you tell yourself in order to be able to sleep at night and justify your decisions as a parent to yourself. No matter _what_ your excuses are, it's **not** okay. So, whatever the hell you were going to say, I don't want to hear it."

Jughead pauses for another brief moment, taking a deep breath to prepare himself for the remainder of the message that he is attempting to give to his mother before he continues speaking. This time, Gladys isn't game enough to speak up and interrupt her son.

"Look, I do want to thank you for what I've learnt from you in parenting my own daughter, though... When you left and when you stepped _down_ , dad stepped _up_. Sure, he was terrible at it, abysmal, even, for a while there, but he _tried_. He was _there_. For that, he has my respect and he has a damn good relationship with his granddaughter who looks up to him like he hung the moon and stars. So, while it might be too late for us, I do thank you for what I've learnt from you when it comes to being a parent. I know I didn't win the parental lottery but something that I was insecure about was being a poor parent and not being good enough for my daughter. However, while I hope to do a damn lot better than just being there, in the very least I know that any effort, even the worst, is better than none at all."

* * *

 **I'd love to know your thoughts on that chapter and Gladys. I hope you all enjoyed the dash of family fluff before things took a turn, too. I'm also interested in your thoughts on the flashback and flashbacks in general. I personally love to write flashbacks so let me know if you'd like me to incorporate more and if you have any requests of what you'd like to see. **

**Anyway, do you reckon I've subjected poor Jughead to enough pain yet? While I've made her pretty damn harsh, I feel like it's not that much of a stretch after she left one child and took the other. Even if it was out of guilt for abandoning Jughead, Gladys making a similar decision felt more believable to me than when she and Jellybean come back and it's all just happy families, like the Jones family didn't crumble the way that it did. Now, apologies to the people that have asked about Gladys and/or Jellybean along the way. I'm sorry for the coy, half-answers because I've had that planned all along and was just waiting to slot the reason why there'd been no real mention of them in the story before then.**

 **Big thank you and shout out to violet1429, JugBet, Marie King, hopelessromantic618, and Bughead4Life for reading and reviewing the last chapter of my story. I really appreciate the feedback!**

Next chapter: **Enjoy a diabetes-inducing amount of fluff-with-feelings when Betty and Bailey invite Jughead over for their movies and pizza night that works wonders.**


	38. The Precious Pearl

**CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT – The Precious Pearl**

After a long week, Saturday night marks Betty and Bailey's weekly pizza and movie night together.

Honestly, Betty can't wait. Unlike other people her age who would be out partying their Saturday nights away, nine times out of ten, it's the highlight of Betty's week to just wind down at home and relax with her little girl.

The Saturday night tradition had begun with Betty alone when at the end of every week she would just spend Saturday night watching a movie or two, after making pizzas for her and her daughter. However, just over a year ago and around when Bailey reached about two and a half years old, her tradition had turned into _theirs_ and Betty's chick flicks or action movies were replaced with Disney or Pixar classics.

Seeing as takeaway is a rarity and bought pizza is hardly the most economical option for the single mum, Betty would usually just make the treat food for herself and the daughter. After all, it is an uphill battle for Betty raising Jughead's daughter who had inherited his love of food, especially the less nutritious options. As a result, pizza night on Saturday's was a saving grace for Betty in reasoning with her daughter and more often than not it was used as a bargaining chip.

However, this week marks a break from tradition.

It had been Bailey who had asked if Jughead could join them for pizza and movie night. Apart from setting aside their little mother-daughter tradition for one week, Betty saw no problem with it, inviting Jughead who had jumped at the opportunity to join them for pizza and movies, too.

#

Over the last few Saturday nights, Betty has been teaching Bailey step-by-step as she makes their weekly pizzas.

Even on a normal day the little girl often likes to help her mother with small things in food preparation, like stirring or pouring. Sometimes, Bailey is even content to just _watch_ her as she cooked. Betty put it down to her daughter's inherited affinity for anything consumable.

However, three weeks ago, Betty had begun with getting Bailey to help her make the dough. The following week she showed her the next step, instructing her on kneading and last week Bailey loved helping her to coat their pizza bases in toppings. This week, Betty _planned_ to go through the whole process with her daughter from start-to-finish, depending on how long her three-and-a-half year olds patience would last in helping her mother to make the pizzas.

So far today, Bailey has helped her mother to measure out the ingredients for the pizza base and then mix them under Betty's patient instruction and watchful eye before moving onto kneading. For a short while, Bailey had managed to follow along with Betty's expert hand movements, imitating the kneading process until her little hands began to get a little sore and she found more interest in playing with the measuring cups. However, she had returned to help Betty just in time to coat their bases with various toppings.

One of Betty's primary goals as a mother had been to try to balance authority with mutual respect. She wants her daughter to know that while she is her mother first and foremost, she also strives to be a friend to her little girl. She wants to extend the dignity and respect to her daughter that her mother didn't show her. She wants Bailey to know that she can have her say and her opinion and while she will take her opinion into account and accept it where she can, ultimately at the end of the day she has the final say and authority as her mother.

So, while Betty has predominantly only been Bailey's mum so far in her little life, she has been working on trying to find ways to hang out with her daughter and relax with her, doing fun things that you'd do with a friend. Teaching her to cook was another little way to not only help Bailey learn new skills but also to spend the time on an activity they enjoy that most nights Betty is just focused on sticking to her timetable and concentrating on how long it will take her to get the food on the plate.

"Mummy? I fink pizza is my best thing in the whole wide world."

Betty's chuckles as she glances down to her three-year-old whose bright blue eyes glimmer with delight.

... Yes, _absolutely_ Jughead's daughter.

"Well, do you know what _my_ best thing in the whole wide world is?" Betty asks, copying her daughter's terminology.

The little girl shakes her head as her blonde curls that have been tied into a high ponytail fly around.

"What is it mummy?"

"You are, Miss Bailey Jones. _You_ are the best thing in my whole wide world."

Bailey giggles at her mother's profession as she ducks her head away with a little flush of colour on her cheeks. However, the three-year-old does _love_ the only-child adoration that she is very well used to.

#

After getting their pizzas in the oven, Betty strips off her apron in order to freshen up, change into something that _isn't_ covered in flour and add a dash of makeup. Bailey too changes herself after making pizza too, now that she can dress herself in almost anything but her bathers and tight boots without needing Betty's help.

Then, walking past her mother's bedroom on her way out of her own room, Bailey is filled with excitement when she catches a glimpse of her mother doing her makeup, acting like ever the little girl as she races into Betty's room.

"Oh mummy, you're getting pretty for pizza!" Bailey exclaims with joy as Betty puts her blush brush down with a smile.

To Bailey, _all_ makeup is simply called 'makeup'; lip makeup, cheek makeup, shiny makeup and eye makeup. However, applying and wearing makeup is referred to as 'getting pretty' for a particular person or an event.

Betty giggles at her daughter's terminology, still finding the innocent remark sweet. However, when she first began uttering it, Betty had initially balanced Bailey's wording out with a little speech to her about how you don't need makeup to 'get pretty'.

"Can I get pretty too, mummy?" Bailey asks as she eyes off Betty's small collection of makeup products that are laid out on her vanity.

While Betty is happy for her daughter to play with her makeup every now and then, she tries to avoid those times coinciding with when they are going out or if they're in the company of other people ever since Alice caught Bailey with a pinker flush to her cheeks than usual with a horrified: " _Is your three-year-old wearing blush out of the house, Elizabeth?!_ "

Seeing as it's only Jughead coming over, Betty gives Bailey a nod of approval. Then, she takes her lip gloss and shows her daughter how to pout before dabbing the smallest amount of the gloss onto her lips which has a life-changing, transformative effect on the three-year-old who races to the nearest mirror with a gasp of delight.

"Oh look, mummy! Oh, it's my best thing in the whole wide world! Bailey's _so_ pretty!"

Betty has to stifle her giggle and hide her amusement behind her warm smile at her daughter's sweet, childish innocence as she tries to remember the last time that _she_ ever stood in front of the mirror declaring how pretty she is. Betty hopes it's something that will never change.

Suddenly, the mother and daughter's little makeup session is interrupted by a knock at the door that sends Bailey flying out of her mother's room with Betty following suit behind her, reminding her not to open the door until she is there.

Then, moments later, Betty is pulling the door open to the familiar face with a warm smile.

"Hi daddy" Bailey greets warmly, throwing her arms out and open to her father who is standing at the door. Although it makes for an uncomfortable hug as he awkwardly juggles with what he's holding in his other hand, Jughead doesn't hesitate on picking Bailey up into his arms.

After Jughead slowly places Bailey back down on the ground, the little girl's parents go in for a quick hug as Betty presses a kiss to his cheek in greeting.

"Mummy got pretty to see you! And look, daddy! I've got lip makeup!" Bailey babbles excitedly, recounting her last few minutes before Jughead's arrival in a manner that leaves Betty's head falling to the floor with an uncomfortable chuckle.

" _And_ with _that_ , come on in..." Betty chuckles uncomfortably, trying to take the heat off herself as she leads Jughead along with their daughter further into her home and away from the front door.

Then, just as she is about to head for the kitchen in order to check on the pizza and offer drinks, Betty feels a pair of lips discreetly brush against the hair covering her ear.

"You look good, Betts... You always do."

Betty bites her lip and she tries to hide the light blush spreading across her cheeks from the compliment as she focuses on the task at hand, offering drinks.

"Have you got a vase or something that I can stick these in?" Jughead asks, discreetly alerting Betty to what is in his hands.

After all, when the three of them were standing in the doorway, Betty didn't take any notice of or see the arrangement of beautiful white lilies, soft pink roses and small white and yellow daisies that are in Jughead's hand.

"Oh wow, Jug... You shouldn't have. _Thank you_."

Her face alight, Betty moves around the small island in her kitchen again to give Jughead an appreciative hug before taking the arrangement from him and preparing them for the vase.

"No, thank _you_. Thank you for having me for dinner tonight."

She just sends him a smile as she sets her flowers on the middle of her bench seeing as there's no room on her small dining table. Then, Betty returns to offering drinks as she watches Jughead giving Bailey a present of her own, smiling at her little squeal as her daughter is handed two wrapped parcels, one appearing to be a small box while the other is a bigger, thin rectangle.

Pouring Jughead the glass of juice that he'd requested, Betty watches on curiously as her daughter opens her present from her father, remembering how a few weeks back Jughead had been asking her if there was anything Bailey was after as he'd wanted to get her something.

There's another gasp as Bailey opens her first present, revealing a little, velvet box that she eagerly opens a little haphazardly, revealing a beautiful silver necklace with a single, simple charm hanging at the bottom of the chain.

"It's a crown!" Bailey exclaims, pausing for a moment before she makes the connection with even more excitement. "It's like the crown on your head, daddy! Now I'm a princess!"

Betty smiles warmly as she watches on, observing as Jughead offers to put the necklace on their daughter's neck, telling her to be very careful that it doesn't hook on anything or get caught.

Then, as Bailey races off in search of the nearest mirror to see her new present for herself, Jughead stands up from where he'd been crouched down in front of Bailey, walking over to stand beside her mother.

"Don't worry, Betts... Her necklace is actually just connected by magnets for now. The jeweller said that apparently they can be taken off to make it a normal chain when she's a little bit older and it's safer."

Betty gives Jughead a warm, kind smile at not only his forethought to their daughter's safety, but also at how well he had done in selecting a present for their daughter. Admittedly, seeing Jughead's trademark crown on their daughter's neck has left her swooning.

"Thank you daddy" Bailey grins as she returns to the room, throwing her arms around Jughead.

He returns her hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair before ruffling it up and handing her the other present that she manages to tear through, ripping the _Frozen_ wrapping paper open to reveal a picture book.

There's another little excited gasp from the three-year-old as she looks over the book with excitement with both of her parents watching her.

"Ooh, I don't think you've read that one, Bailey-girl" Betty remarks more so for Jughead's sake than Bailey's, trying to indicate to him that it was a good choice and a new book to introduce to her.

Jughead's remark in return confuses Betty just a little, causing her to scrunch her eyebrows up just a little.

"I should hope not..."

Then, it's as Betty glances from the book, to Jughead and back to the book again when Betty picks up on one certain detail with a little gasp escaping her lips. All of a sudden, she understands Jughead's cryptic comment as she reads over the cover of her daughter's newest book:

 _The Precious Pearl_  
-Forsythe Jones-

A shocked Betty tries to catch Jughead's eye and share her look of amazement with him. She fails as it seems he has his head ducked a little, dodging her glance a little insecurely.

"Bailey, we should read this book now before we have dinner. What do you think? Would you like daddy to read it to you?"

The little girl nods enthusiastically at her mother's suggestion, clutching onto her new book with one hand as she takes her father's in the other, leading him over to the lounge where they sit beside each other on the lounge.

Betty follows the father and daughter over to the living area, trailing behind them enthusiastically to hear the reading of the book, too. However, just as Bailey gently opens to the first page and just before Jughead is about to begin reading, Betty speaks up.

"Hold on a second... Bailey, do you remember how sometimes we read the name on the front of a book first?"

Bailey nods as she looks across to Betty from where she's making herself quite comfortable in Jughead's arms.

"Now, you know that there's the name of the book on the cover, but do you remember what else is written on the cover?"

"Um... An awful?"

At their daughter's guess, Betty bites her lip to hold back her laugh as Jughead snickers a little less discreetly.

"Close, Bailey... It's called an _author_. Now do you remember what the author is?"

This time, Bailey's little face lights up in recognition of what her mother is asking her.

"Yeah! It's the book magician!"

Glancing across to the mother of his child, Jughead can't hold back his smile at hearing how Betty has already started to educate their daughter on the creator of a work, instilling a respect for an author and their work in Bailey, already. However, Jughead realises that he shouldn't _really_ be surprised given that Bailey has two writers as parents. Betty notes his smile.

Then, they take turns and its Betty's chance to listen in intently, possibly with even more interest and fixation than their daughter as Jughead begins to read, beginning with the authors note at the very start of the book...

 _For_ ** _my_** _precious pearl_

Jughead's children's book is about a boy who dropped a pearl without realising it. Not long after, the boy went travelling, trying to do this and trying to do that to try to make himself happy. At one point, the boy in the book thinks about going back to where he came from and back to where he started, but he was scared. It then goes on to explain that the boy thought that people back there would tease him and say mean things. But, in the end the boy becomes brave and he goes back, finding his precious pearl that he didn't even know that he had lost, making him happier than everything else he tried along the way. Then, as it turned out, the people that he had been scared about seeing turned out to be nice and kind to him, caring that he got his precious pearl back and showing him that he didn't have anything to be worried about all along.

While the pearl is depicted as being the literal treasure of a clam throughout the book as she listens and observes it being read, Betty notes that on the final page of the book, the final illustration, depicts a raven-haired boy, tightly hugging a little blonde girl. Then, glancing down to the lounge next to her, Betty looks at the boy and _his_ precious pearl sitting together.

After Jughead finishes reading his own book to his daughter who is oblivious to the fact that it was not only written _for_ her, but it was also inspired _by_ her, Bailey looks up from where she is nestled into Jughead's arm, with her bright, doe-like blue eyes meeting his own hooded ones.

"Thank you, daddy... I fink my presents are my best thing in the whole wide world."

Betty chuckles after hearing her daughter exclaim that for the _third_ time in just a few, short hours. She won't tell Jughead that...

#

After Betty brought their homemade pizzas out to the picnic rug that she had set up on the floor of the lounge room, the family of three began watching their first movie when Bailey _finally_ began to quieten down after going on and on about how she had made the pizzas.

They started off with watching Bailey's current favourite, _101 Dalmatians,_ first as they ate their pizzas. Then, a viewing of _Moana_ followed it as they all got a little more settled and comfortable on the picnic rug that is laid out on the floor of the lounge, adorned with scattered pillows and blankets that Betty had set up.

Sprawled out comfortably on the floor, Bailey lasted about three quarters of the way through the second movie before dozing off and falling asleep with her parents either side of her sleeping little body.

When the movie finally draws to an end for the adults, Betty glances over to Jughead with a kind smile. Now that she finally has a chance to say what she's wanted to say all night, Betty speaks up in a low whisper

"You wrote a book for our daughter..."

While Betty's comment is a statement rather than a question, you can still hear the disbelief over his gesture to Bailey that had warmed Betty's heart and filled her with love for the father of her child.

"I wanted to get her something special... I have a whole lot of years of spoiling her to make up for, after all. I just wanted it to be special."

While the little silver necklace with a little crown charm to signify Jughead's trademark was absolutely adorable, Betty couldn't believe that he'd managed to outdo himself with the book that he had written for Bailey, with the deeper meaning that went over the three-year-olds head touching her mother's heart.

For a few moments the two of them sit in a comfortable silence, watching their daughter sleeping between them as they steal a glance towards one another occasionally, every now and then, until Jughead speaks up in a whisper.

"Betty?"

The combination of her nickname and his voice jolts Betty to attention as she looks over to him, prompting him to continue speaking.

"Have I ever said thank you to you?"

"Thank you? Thank you for what?"

Along with her question in answer to his own question, Betty gives Jughead a puzzled look, conveying her confusion at what he has just randomly put to her. He just glances down at the three-year-old sleeping peacefully between them before returning to look up to Betty, reflecting on the time that he's spent with the two girls sharing the picnic rug with him not only tonight, but over the last few months.

"For Bailey. Thank you for giving me her... Thank you for having my kid... And, thanks for doing such a damn good job at raising her. You are such a good mum, Betts."

A warm, genuine smile erupts over Betty's face at Jughead's comment, thanking her for something so simple, yet so enormous with a 'thank you' seeming nowhere near enough.

"You are most welcome, Juggie."

His touching thank you and the genuine feeling behind it leaves her heart pounding as her warm smile is spread across her face.

In the moment of silence that follows it, the two of them share another little smile that says so much more than their words do as their gaze catches each other once again. They remain sitting there like that for a little while longer before Jughead asks her a question, looking down to the three-year-old who is sprawled out comfortably between on the picnic rug that is filled with pillows and blankets.

"Do you want me to carry her to her room for you?"

"Oh, if you don't mind that would be great" Betty smiles as Jughead returns it with a nod of acknowledgment.

Slowly and delicately Jughead tries to scoop his daughter up into his arms without waking her. However, as she is transferred from the picnic rug to her father's arms, the sudden movement unsettles Bailey for just a brief moment as she jolts a little before settling back into Jughead's chest without another word as he carries her to her bedroom just down the hallway.

Remembering that she'd made Bailey's bed earlier that day, Betty races ahead, rushing to quickly pull back the quilt cover to make it easier for Jughead as he lays their daughter down on her little bed, pulling the covers up over her shoulders, tucking her in with a single kiss to the top of her head.

As soon as Bailey is settled with no sign of waking up again, the two parents slowly creep out of their daughter's bedroom, silently lingering in the hallway as they both wait for the other to say or do something, each of them wanting to go off the other person.

"I should probably head off..."

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Jug. I'm not kicking you out just because Bailey's asleep. You can hang around for a bit longer, stay for a drink if you feel like it."

"Thanks for the offer, but I have an appointment that's way too early in the morning for my liking so I should probably be sensible and head home. I'll definitely take you up on that offer another time, though."

Betty nods, giving Jughead a silent smile as the two of them slowly trail through her small apartment and towards the front door.

"Thanks again for spoiling both us, Juggie. You really didn't have to."

"I know. I wanted to..." Jughead says as he looks back to her from where he is walking two steps ahead. The look he gives her sends a warm shiver down her spine.

When they reach her front door, they open their arms to each other in a goodbye hug with the little distance between them being reduced even more so as they collapse into the comfort of each other.

Then, as the socially acceptable time for a usual hug draws to an end, they only nestle a little more closely into each other's arms, rather than pulling away like two good friends should. They stay like this for the longest time, hugging each other, holding each and refusing to let go as his head rests on her shoulder and hers settles against the crook of his neck.

With a sigh, Jughead slowly unwraps his arms from around Betty as he ever so slowly shifts away from her and takes a step back at realising that they've probably crossed one of the lines that they'd drawn up for themselves.

After pulling away, they stand there with mere centimetres dividing them as they stay there idly, looking to each other, averting their glance and then repeating the sequence all over again.

Then, as her green eyes vulnerably lock with his blue ones for a few seconds longer than each time before, Betty takes a deep breath and a step towards the father of her child, closing the minimal gap between them.

For a split second, they both search each other's eyes that they know so well, looking for any hesitance and uncertainty as they're each presented with the opportunity to shake their head or take a step back, to do something, _anything_ , to indicate that they don't want what comes next as much as the other person does. However, that indicator doesn't come, not for Jughead, not for Betty as they both succumb to what they both want just as much as each other.

After she has taken the step forward, his hands slowly extend out, resting on her shoulders as he clutches onto her neck, holding her head in hands so delicately and gently, cherishing her. She follows his lead as he slowly lowers his head to hers, directing them to each other's lips as they unite once again with their lips moving in rhythm, their slow and sweet kiss growing faster and more heated as Betty's palms come to rest on the nape of his neck, drawing them that little bit closer.

Then, after the savoured moment is over far too quick and their embrace draws to an end, Betty slowly pulls away as Jughead exhales a pained sigh. He releases his grasp on her face as his thumbs tenderly brush against her cheeks in the process, only increasing the smile on her face as they break away before she speaks up in a low whisper.

"What are we doing, Juggie?"

* * *

 **I hope you all liked what pizza and movie night delivered! There was a bit of mother/daughter time, a little father/daughter moment and a touch of Bughead. I hope you liked the chapter of family fluff! There'll be more of that coming over the next few chapters. I'd love to know what you all thought of this chapter, too.**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who left a review on the last chapter. I really appreciate the feedback from you all.**

 **Next chapter: It's a big one! Betty and Jughead are forced to face their feelings after they overstepped as friends once again. Then, FP intervenes in order to get the two of them to talk through their past.**


	39. Hope

**CHAPTER THIRTY NINE – Hope**

After Jughead left her apartment that night, having given into temptation by sharing a kiss, Betty spends a lot of time staying up and sitting in the silence. She reflects on and contemplates the past, the present and all the difference choices that are open to her leading into the future.

For the longest time, Betty sits there thumbing through photo albums that hadn't been put away and returned into storage after one of the last times that Jughead visited Betty and Bailey. The nostalgia of the old photos and memories does absolutely no good for her emotions as she looks through the pages of her and her daughter's life...

She sees the photos of the fleeting childhood of a young girl who had to grow up far too quickly. She remembers the innocence and the joy in some of the best moments of those years. It reaffirms the young mother's strong determination to want to deliver the best of being young and innocent for _without_ the worst of it for her own daughter, for as long as possible...

She sees the group photo of five teenagers -herself, Archie, Veronica, Jughead and Kevin- that was taken just a few weeks after the school year re-commenced a few years ago now. She remembers just how crushed she had been feeling when that photo had been taken, just a few days after being told that Archie loved her as a friend and _despite_ the smile on her face. In that photo, the focus of her gaze and affections had still been the redhead who was wearing a big grin, with one arm wrapped around Veronica and the other around Betty. She remembers how that heartbroken teenager who was struggling with unrequited love was completely unprepared for the fact that another boy would sweep her off her feet so soon after that photo was taken. She had no idea that she would find true love with the boy who is _barely_ in that photo, cowering in the background, with his eyes on the girl who didn't know he had an eye on her...

She sees the photo of two innocent school kids, proudly holding the first issue of the _Blue and Gold_ that they had produced together. She remembers how they had unexpectedly found a refuge in one another and how they fallen head-over-heels in love as they reinstated a high school newspaper and investigated their classmate's murder...

She sees the photos of a young couple at his seventeenth birthday party. She remembers the joy of that night that would go on to change her life completely, their love creating new life...

She sees the pictures of a seventeen-year-old holding her newborn baby just moments after she entered the world. She remembers the indescribable feeling of absolute bliss and joy that had come with holding her daughter in her arms for the very first time. However, she also remembers the grief and terror that had hit just ten minutes after that, leaving her in tears, inconsolable, as the prospect of being a single mother and raising that teeny, tiny baby all on her own finally sunk in...

She sees the assortment of pictures and memories that cover the entirety of a little three-and-a-half year old's life. She remembers all the good times, all the joy, all the struggle and all the love. But, more than anything else, she remembers the distinctive ache of wishing that there was one, certain person there to be there to experience it all.

Shutting the pages of the scrapbooks and photo albums that are sprawled out on the table in front of her which are _filled_ with memories and raw emotion, Betty stands up from her dining table and walks through her small home and into her daughter's bedroom.

After she checks on her three-year-old who is fast asleep and sprawled out comfortably on her mattress with golden locks and limbs flying in every direction, Betty stands there in the doorway with her chest heaving, feeling wracked with emotions as she watches her daughter sleep for a few moments.

Despite her own feelings both good and bad towards Jughead and their history together, what Betty wants most of all is to do the right thing by their daughter. However, she has no idea what that is...

The options that are laid out before her includes the safe choice and the scary option. After all, the two of them could remain as good friends and amicable co-parents as they raise their daughter both individually and together. Or, Betty can decide to jump into the deep end and rekindle her relationship with the father of her child. However, this option comes at the risk of hurting Bailey if it all goes pear-shaped, or they could potentially give her a proper family in the case that they succeed. It was all or nothing.

With a sigh and a sad smile, Betty pushes herself off from her daughter's door-frame, stepping down the hallway and into her own bedroom as she collapses onto her own bed. She can feel the fresh tears that are beginning to stream down her face as she clutches at her heart, overwhelmed with the desperation of wanting to do the best thing, wanting to follow her heart and wanting to protect her daughter, but not knowing what the best thing _is_...

Betty _wants_ to give him a second chance. Every part of her wants to truly forgive Jughead and try to truly forget the years of pain that he had unknowingly piled onto her while he was suffering with his own.

She wants to move on, she wants them to move on and more than anything else, she wants them to be a family. She wants Bailey to have a family.

However, as soon as she starts to feel sure of her decision, the little whispers of doubt in the back of her mind begin to speak up again, reminding her of the pain that she'd endured and reminding her of the way that he had left her without a goodbye, shattering her heart as he left her unknowingly pregnant. Then, after the whispers of doubt begin to fade away, her mind cuts to _Pop's_ , chasing her daughter out as Bailey chased her father down. She remembers seeing the look on his face, the same look that she had seen on his face the night that he left her the first time, only being interrupted by their daughter this time.

While she _wants_ to forgive him and she _wants_ to give their relationship a second chance, each time she considers the prospect, Betty feels the shiver of hesitance ripple through her. It leaves her feeling absolutely petrified of the idea of letting go, the idea of being hurt again and more than anything else, the idea of Bailey being hurt in the crossfire...

#

The following day marked the family lunch that FP had invited Betty and Bailey to join himself and Jughead for

Warring with the choices laid out in front of her and feeling divided over the safe choice and what she wants, Betty had had an awful night's sleep. She struggled to switch her mind off and fall to a deep sleep before her daughter raced into her room at seven the following morning.

Consequently, she had briefly toyed with the idea of apologetically calling FP and asking if they could rearrange the lunch for another time. However, she knew that there's no way that she'd get that passed Bailey without breaking her heart.

So, by the time that Betty and Bailey roll up to the familiar trailer in the Sunnyside Trailer Park, the young mother is feeling beyond exhausted as she half-heartedly listens to her three-year-old babble on animatedly about the kid's show that she'd been watching as Betty got ready.

After Betty's knock on the door is quickly answered by Jughead, Bailey is interrupted from her tangent in order for her to give her dad a big hug. Then, she makes herself at home and races through the small trailer to find her beloved grandfather, where he is preparing salad sandwiches in the kitchen. Upon catching sight of the three-year-old, though, he abandons ship on the task in order to pick up and throw his arms around his granddaughter.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the small wall partition, Betty and Jughead linger by the front door before she steps inside as Jughead closes the door behind her, leaving just centimetres of space between them.

Both Betty and Jughead's hands hang loosely by their sides, neither of them closing their body language off with crossed arms or anything of that sort.

"How are you?" Jughead asks in a low whisper. While he'd left Betty's apartment walking on sunshine last night after having a wonderful day with the mother-daughter duo, ending in another kiss from the blonde standing in front of him, Jughead had grown to feel a little apprehensive as to how the day before would impact things in light of a new day. Would she just see it as a bad mistake and ask him to forget all about it? He doesn't know if he could.

Betty just shrugs in answer to Jughead's question. She knows that he knows her too well not to sense that she's not quite her cheery self, but she doesn't really want to go into the detail of the fact that she's feeling tired and even more so, she doesn't want to elaborate on _why_ she had such an awful night sleep last night.

"You look tired..." Jughead comments as Betty had guessed he would. No amount of under-eye concealer could hide the fact that he knows her too well.

She gives him another shrug. However, this time, Betty decides to elaborate after choosing her explanation carefully.

"I had a couple of things on my mind after you left so it took me a while to get to sleep. Then, Bailey didn't sleep in for quite as long as I thought that she would this morning."

Jughead nods in understanding of what she's telling him as he ever so slowly extends a hand out to soothingly brush against the back of her own. It is the teeniest, tiniest little gesture to comfort her, but it still brings a smile to Betty's face.

"As long as you're okay..."

"Yeah, I am... Thank you. Thanks for caring."

As the smallest of smiles grows and curls on the corners of her lips from his words and his touch, Betty ignores her concerns and restraint, throwing away every precaution and every effort that she has made to try and just remain friends as she expands on his gesture, shifting her hand by turning her palm so that his fingertips aren't just brushing against the back of her hand.

" _Well_ , I care about you."

This time, neither of them can hide the small smiles directed at each other.

Meanwhile, her hand slowly curls around, as her own fingertips brush against his, back and forth and up and down. Slowly, ever so slowly, their finger slowly interweave and lock as their hands become entangled, turning into a hand hold.

While their hands interlock and remain clasped within each others, Betty and Jughead just continue speaking halfheartedly, as though they _aren't_ both ignoring the main event and turning a blind eye to what else is going on beyond their words.

"What about you? How are _you_?"

Jughead shrugs to which she just nods. It's not all that unlike the way she had when he first asked her that very same question and she knows what he means without him saying a word.

After Betty's question, they fall to silence as a few moments of the two of them holding hands passes by with neither of them pulling away from the other, _until_ they hear an approaching set of footsteps, striking them with fear.

As FP rounds the corner to where Betty and Jughead are standing closely, he notes their interlocked hands being held by each other, followed by the panicked looks on their faces. The two of them jump at his presence, quickly scrambling and releasing their hold on each other, though it's too late. He's seen it all. So, just as promptly as he had caught sight of them, he turns around and walks away with the smirk etched into his face as he goes to keep an eye on his granddaughter, directing her to the other side of the trailer to avoid her seeing the same thing that he just has, catching her parents moment.

After FP walks off, Betty takes a step away from Jughead with their hands now untangled.

"That could have just as easily been _Bailey_ who raced around the corner then to see mummy and daddy holding hands... We're being reckless, Jug."

Jughead sighs and his head drops to the ground as he looks down to the old and worn linoleum.

"No, you're right... We are getting way too complacent, especially for _friends_."

As a silence falls between the two of them, they share a look. Neither of them utters the feeling that they are exchanging and the fact that while they know that they need to for their daughter's sake, they don't really _want_ to stop...

#

After their lunch of salad sandwiches, FP announces that he and Bailey are going to take Hot Dog on a really, _really_ long walk around town.

"Are mummy and daddy coming too?" Bailey asks, looking up to her grandfather inquisitively as she listens to him relaying the details of their walk to her parents.

"Oh no, your mummy and daddy aren't invited on our walk, Bailey. Besides, Hot Dog doesn't like too many people going on walks with him."

Bailey nods in acceptance and understanding of what she has just been told, her loose golden locks bouncing around her face as she does so. From where she's standing beside her daughter, Betty can't hide her smirk as she nips at her lip, while Jughead's cheeks flush with colour as they both silently react to FP's attempts to play matchmaker that couldn't be further from discreet.

"That's okay; mummy and daddy can just play together then."

Bailey's comment is completely innocent. However, the three adults surrounding her with far less pure minds have to stifle their laughter at her innocent remark. This time, its Betty's cheeks that flush with colour as Jughead has to hold back his chuckle, pushing him closer to the edge upon turning to see his father who looks just about ready to erupt with laughter at Bailey's remark.

As Bailey races off to put try and put her sneakers on for herself, she leaves the three adults who are trying to regain their composure after her innocent remark was taken a _very_ different way.

With Bailey out of earshot, FP begins to chuckle to himself freely, looking between his son and the girl he views as a daughter. Then, as he begins to follow Bailey, the older man slaps his son on the shoulder as he walks past him, once again looking just about ready to burst at the seams and erupt with laughter as he copies his granddaughter's terminology.

"Alright you two, we're off. Have fun _playing_."

#

After FP and Bailey leave with Hot Dog in tow, the grandfather and granddaughter duo leave the two parents with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide in the very small trailer after being intentionally thrust together by Jughead's father.

"So... Do you want a drink?" Jughead asks in the sudden silence that is a little uncomfortable given the fact that the two of them have been forced to speak, alone, in a situation that would _normally_ not be an issue for the two of them whatsoever.

"No thanks, I'm fine."

After Betty declines Jughead's offer, another silence settles between the two of them. So, he leads them both over to the living area of the small trailer where they each take a seat side-by-side on the lounge.

For far longer than they'd care to admit, the two of them sit there in silence. They occasionally glance over to the other before looking away again, repeating this sequence of actions over and over again for the longest time, getting absolutely nowhere.

Then, as he takes a deep breath of much-needed air, Jughead shuffles in his seat on the lounge beside Betty, twisting himself to face her as he takes the leap of faith and lays everything on the line, speaking up with absolute honesty.

"I want to be with you, Betty."

Betty's emerald eyes fly up to meet his baby blues, seeing the vulnerability in him as he lays his cards out on the table, preparing himself to play the game of all-or-nothing.

Somehow, despite her lack of a response, Jughead finds the willpower and the strength to continue speaking as he elaborates on his initial declaration, pouring his heart out to Betty.

"I want to be make sure that I never let go of what I left behind all those years ago. I want to make sure I never let go of you again and that I never, ever hurt you like that again."

Betty watches him closely and intently for a few long moments before she speaks up in a soft whisper, slowly looking up as her eyes meet his.

"I want that too, Jug..."

Jughead's nostrils flare a little as he fails to even _try_ to conceal the smile that spreads across his face, indicating the way that he's feeling on the inside at the joy of hearing Betty's reciprocal feelings after his declaration.

However, Betty doesn't stop there. After all, unfortunately it's not quite as straightforward as just agreeing with what he's told her as she takes a deep breath, glancing away before her gaze returns to him.

"I _want_ that, but I'm so scared... I'm scared to trust you again. I'm scared of being hurt again. I'm scared of Bailey being hurt."

Jughead's face falls at Betty's words but it's only because he knows that he has no one but himself to blame. After all, he's disappointed in himself for ever causing Betty's fear and apprehension. He can't blame her for feeling that way, knowing how badly he had hurt her and how deep her remaining scars are over the way that he had left town and left Betty four years ago. Jughead hates himself for it.

"I am so sorry, Betty... I know that there's nothing that I can do to change the impact of me leaving. That will always be the biggest mistake of my life. So, I don't blame you if you can't forgive _me_ because I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive _myself_..."

Betty looks to him with soft eyes as she nods earnestly, reaching out to touch his cheek at seeing the way that he is punishing himself for her pain and her struggle to trust him.

Her tender touch is almost a summary of Betty's relationship with Jughead; she can't help the way that she feels, but she also cannot help from being drawn to him, failing to hold herself back in the moments that she should.

With her hand on his cheek as she touches the side of his face, Betty remains silent even after he's finished speaking. Then, as he takes a deep breath, Jughead reaches out and takes her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze as he looks her straight into her green eyes.

"... But, if I ever was to be given a second chance, I promise you that I will never, ever make that mistake. Through all the bad in my life back before I left, you were the one good thing in my life. And, now, you and Bailey are what I live for. I won't take this for granted... I will **not** take this for granted."

Betty nods slowly as she studies Jughead closely. A part of her just wants to snatch up the romanticism of his words and his declaration, just like any impulsive twenty-year-old girl with feelings for someone would want to. However, it's the _mother_ in Betty that holds her back, needing more than that from Jughead before she can be swept off her feet with his reassurances.

"You left me once before, Jug... I appreciate what you're promising, but it's still just _words_. Why should I trust you that it's any different this time?"

Jughead's answer to Betty's question is almost instantaneous, taking little-to-no thought whatsoever before he squeezes her hand with reassurance as he speaks.

"Because, this is all I've ever wanted... I feel like I belong in our little, dysfunctional family and even if you just want it to be as friends, I feel like we're a team as we raise our little girl... All I have _ever_ wanted in life is to belong, to be a part of a family. So, even though I thought that I would be the child in the family unit that I always wished for, I wouldn't have it any other way now that we have our baby girl and seeing that this is the way I've finally found a family. I wouldn't do _anything_ to risk losing that now that I have it."

Betty's eyes slowly close and her eyelids flutter shut as she listens to Jughead's answer to her question. Then, she inhales a deep breath at the conclusive feeling of peace that fills her, leaving a smile behind on her lips.

Hearing Jughead's answer from _him_ makes Betty's mind up for _her_...

After all, everything that she's hearing from him in his own words, all that he values, all that he feels and all that's he's afraid of losing, matches _her_. She's hearing everything that she has felt and grown concerned of coming from _him_. She sees it in his eyes, too. She sees the light that shines through his blue eyes at the mention of their daughter and their dysfunctional family. Then, she sees the fear that fills those same eyes as the scared young boy comes through in his insecurities upon the idea of losing it all.

Even though Betty's mind is made up, she sits there in silence for a while after he finishes speaking. In fact, he is about to speak up again just to fill the void of silence as she finally speaks up and responds to the nervous young boy beside her.

"One chance, Jughead... I'll give us **one** more chance. But, I need you to promise me that we will use this chance to give it absolutely everything."

Jughead looks at her and watches her intently for a few moments. As he watches her closely, he's just waiting for her to tell him it's just a joke or to change her mind, but she doesn't. So, his face fills with joy, radiating through his eyes as the enormous smile spreads across his lips.

Betty shares his smile and his joy, too, giggling for just a moment before she continues speaking, laying out her terms and conditions for them to give their relationship a second chance.

"But, let me just say, if you leave me, if you leave _us_ again, then that is it, for us and for Bailey. I won't have any hesitation in cutting you out of our life for good."

Jughead nods, with the smile still on his face. After all, although he's slightly more solemn -understanding the seriousness of this moment- he still can't deny his joy, before reiterating her own point to her.

"I promise you, Betty, I won't leave you again. I won't abandon Bailey. I understand how important it is for us to make this work and give it our best. After all, it's not just about us..."

Feeling him give her hands another squeeze of reassurance, Betty looks down to their hands that are clutching each others. When he speaks up again, his joy is more evident once again in this moment as he struggles to wipe the smile off his face.

"So we're really doing this?"

A smile slowly erupts on Betty's lips, mirroring Jughead's own as she gives him a certain nod in answer to his question. They share each other's smile and relish in the joy of that moment and what is hopefully just the beginning of something wonderful.

However, Betty's expression grows a little more serious as she remembers one other detail that she wants to make clear to Jughead, especially before his father and their daughter come trudging into the trailer again with the two of them due to return from their walk at any minute now.

"Juggie, I want to leave it a little bit before we tell Bailey. A lot has happened over the last four years and you and I aren't the same people that we used to be. I feel like _we_ need to be confident that we're going to be able to make this work before _she_ knows about us... I hate having to keep things from her, but the only thing that is more important to me than being honest with my daughter is making sure that I protect her."

Jughead nods in agreement while their thumbs continue to play with one another's as they tap and touch back and forth subconsciously, most of their concentration on their conversation. Listening to what she has just said, he can _definitely_ support her request, sharing her desire to protect their daughter, especially as they explore the new territory that comes with rekindling their relationship several years on.

So, after discussing their agreement to keep their relationship from their three-year-old until they are more certain of their future, Betty and Jughead shuffle a little closer together on the lounge, exchanging smiles as they don't just settle for sitting closer together. Instead, Betty lays a hand to his chest as she extends herself up a little from her seat on the lounge, leaning up to reach his lips as he slowly lowers his own down to close the gap between them and meet hers halfway.

Even though it's not even their first kiss in over four years, this kiss, their first kiss as a couple again, reminds Betty of their very first. Although it's familiar this time around, the kiss is just as soft, it's just as sweet, and it's just as tender as their very first kiss. Every second is savoured as Jughead releases a small, contented sigh when their lips eventually separate.

... It's full of _hope_.

Then, after their first kiss marking their rekindled relationship, Jughead pulls Betty into his arms as she leans against his chest, instantly at ease as the walls fly down and they take the enormous leap with each other, once again.

As he presses a kiss to the top of her hair and into her golden locks, he struggles to believe that he's fortunate enough to be right there, sitting there and holding her.

After all, sitting there, holding her -holding the girl he loved, the girl he left- in his arms once again, Jughead feels a sense of sweeping relief as he finally exhales the deep breath that he didn't know that he'd been holding in after all this time...

* * *

 **They're back together! About time! I hope you liked the chapter as Betty worked through her decision, aided by a little bit of flirtation and help. I'd love to know what you thought!**

 **As a side note, I'm sorry if there are any glaringly obvious errors with this chapter. It was an absolute pain to proofread. The app kept crashing whenever I tried to save and I'd lose all my editing and it even overrode the new chapter of The Secrets Deep Within, replacing it with this chapter!**

 **Also, be sure to follow my tumblr page 'riverheadcf'. From here on, I am going to endeavour to post some kind of preview for the new chapters of both my stories, be it a small excerpt, one line of dialogue or an extended 'next chapter' preview of sorts.**

 **Next chapter** **: It's Betty and Jughead's second first date!**


	40. Second First Dates

**CHAPTER FORTY – Second First Dates**

Jughead is _sure_ that it is absolutely no coincidence that when FP left to take Jughead and Betty's daughter on a walk to the nearby park with Hot Dog, it marked the longest outing ever.

Jughead is right.

FP had undeniably planned out the turn of events that left the young parents with alone time to kill in the trailer as they waited for him to return with their daughter.

However, while he had hopes and ideas of what could _possibly_ happen upon leaving the two exes alone together, even FP himself didn't quite dare to dream quite as big as what had happened in reality; with Jughead and Betty deciding to rekindle their former relationship and give each other a second chance.

Anyway, after a generous amount of time passed, FP and Bailey returned to the trailer and FP served the cake that he'd tried to make for dessert, offering his son and Betty hot drinks to go along with it.

Then, after dessert, the three adults all sit around on the couch and one-seater lounge chair with their hot coffees in hand. As they sit around and chat together, the three-year-old is sitting down in front of the coffee table between them, alternating between patting Hot Dog who is sitting beside her and playing with her dolls that are scattered across the coffee table.

Meanwhile, Jughead and Betty sit there, chatting to his father and sharing little smirks, knowing that they're sharing the same couch that they had sat on, just an hour or so earlier, where they had decided to give their relationship a second chance.

However, the relaxed coffee-and-chat is interrupted when Betty notices the way that her daughter is beginning to slouch on the coffee table, almost using it as a headrest as her movements become slower and her eyelids seem to grow heavier. Then, every now and then between playing with her dolls, she releases the largest, arm-stretching yawns

"I should probably get someone home for a nap..." Betty announces with a reluctant sigh. "I can tell she's starting to crash and she'll be grumpy for the rest of the day if she gets her second wind before she sleeps."

Betty's disappointment that accompanies her statement is reciprocated on Jughead's own face for just a few moments and before he brightens up with a resolution coming to mind.

"If you wanted to stay for a little longer, I could put her down for a nap in my room?"

Betty shoots Jughead a sad smile. She wants him to know that she appreciates his suggestion and that she really wishes that she could take him up on it. However, she's lodged between a rock and a hard place.

"Oh, I'd love to, but my mum sorted of invited herself and dad over this evening. She was guilt-tripping me over the fact that I haven't had them over to my place in a while and then she took it open herself to organise it for this evening. So, I was going to have to leave soon anyway to make sure that my place is an Alice-Cooper standard of meticulous."

Jughead just nods in understanding as Betty shoots him another apologetic smile, trying to convey the fact that she would _much_ rather staying there with them approximately a hundred times more than the idea of having her parents over.

Noting the little girl sitting at the coffee table whose head is resting on her arm like a pillow, Jughead gets up and crouches down to his daughter, preparing to say his goodbyes.

As Jughead exhales a sigh, he gives his daughter's body a gentle squeeze within his arms. Just lately, it feels like whenever the time comes to say goodbye to Bailey it is growing a little bit harder and harder each time.

"Bye sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you too, daddy" Bailey replies, her speech growing a little slow as she fights off her sleepiness. However, she seems to be failing as her head nestles contently against Jughead's shoulder almost instantly, bringing a grin to her father's face as he holds her in his arms for as long as possible.

Then, pressing a final kiss to the sleepy three-year-olds golden locks, Jughead hands his little girl over to his father who is next in line for a goodbye hug. Meanwhile, Jughead discreetly snatches up the other blonde girl's hands, quickly dragging her further into the small trailer. As they grind to a sudden halt in the darkened hallway that leads off to the small bedrooms and basic bathroom, Betty is still trying to keep up with what is happening as Jughead quickly presses a quick kiss to her lips.

"I just wanted to say goodbye."

Coming up to speed with what had all just happened within seconds, a smile grows on Betty's lips. Then, she is returning the favour with a quick kiss as her lips linger on his for a little longer, daringly, before she pulls away, leaving two smiles on their faces.

"Well, _goodbye_ , in that case."

#

After their private farewell, Betty and Jughead are quick to return to the living area of the trailer where Bailey's eyes are almost entirely closed from where she is laying against her grandfather's chest. While he holds her in his arms, he watches on, smirking, as the two parents scurry out of the hallway with grins that they can't wipe of their faces.

Then, FP hands his granddaughter over to her mother who thanks him once again for lunch while Jughead slinks behind, watching on.

It's only _after_ the mother and daughter have left the small trailer when FP turns to his son with a big, wild grin on his face the second after the door is closed shut.

"So? Out with it, boy! What did I miss?"

Jughead's gaze glances upward for a few moments, catching his father sweating it out, appearing to be at his mercy and preparing to hang onto his every word in the silence as Jughead toys with the idea of telling him or not...

However, given that _Jughead_ has a pretty good idea that _his_ _father_ has a pretty good idea of what he is deliberating over telling him, the younger man just lets the smirk erupt across his face.

"I may or may not have gotten myself a girlfriend while you and Bailey were out..." Jughead grins coyly, fighting off the grin on his face as he looks down to the linoleum flooring to drag him back down to earth.

The delight on FP's face is instantaneous as he throws his arms around his son in a celebratory man-hug.

"I'm stoked for you, son. Betty is such a great girl... The two of you deserve this. After everything, both of you deserve to be happy."

Jughead can't hide his own smile as he looks to his own father grinning from ear-to-ear when they finally separate from their hug.

"Thanks dad... Can you just keep it to yourself though, okay? Betty's a bit worried about people thinking it's too soon after her breakup and even more importantly, we want to keep it from Bailey until we feel more certain that things will work out. Now, speaking of, if you'd like to have a chance to prove _just_ how delighted you are for us, what would you say to the idea of having the honour to babysit your delightful, easy, sweet granddaughter?"

While Jughead flourishes his words with exaggerated adjectives in an attempt to seal the deal with his father, his efforts prove to be unnecessary in selling the idea to the doting grandfather.

"Of course I'm happy to look after Bailey... Just tell me when."

"Thanks dad... Betty and I briefly mentioned the idea of tomorrow night if that suits you? Also, would you might if I use the truck tomorrow?"

After FP nods and responds affirmatively to his son's series of questions, Jughead thanks his father as he starts to make his way out of the room and towards his own one, knowing that he has with some serious planning to do before tomorrow...

Then, the smile that had seemed like a permanent fixture on FP's face quickly disappears, leaving a sudden seriousness in its place as he catches Jughead before he leaves the room.

"One more thing, Jughead... Just know that if you leave her again, or if you screw things up with her, I swear that there'll be hell to pay. _Understand_?"

#

The following day, Betty was spot-on on time to drop Bailey off at the Jones trailer to spend the evening with her beloved grandfather. Then, not long after their arrival, the young parents said their goodbyes to their daughter before discreetly leaving in the most inconspicuous manner. Given her age, it was unlikely that little Bailey would think anything of it, but children do connect the dots to the oddest things and the two of them wanted to stay far away from raising any suspicions whatsoever.

After they left and during the short drive to Jughead's mystery destination, the two of them sit there in FP's truck finding and testing the new waters that the old friends and former couple have found themselves in.

He toys with the idea of offering a hand out towards the passenger's seat to take hers. She sits there neatly, appearing very rigid and Cooper-like with her hands in her lap. He debates whether he should turn the music on softly, loudly, or just leave them in silence. She sits there feeling nervous; hoping that she doesn't _look_ too nervous to the man who knows her too well.

Then with a nervous chuckle, Jughead speaks up in a low voice.

"Damn, I'm out of practice when it comes to this sort of stuff... Here I was foolishly thinking that it's the kind of thing that gets easier the older you get."

Betty returns his chuckle with a giggle of her own, biting her lip as she glances back and forth between Jughead and the road ahead of them a few times.

"I thought that was just me..." she replies honestly, glancing back over to him once again.

This time, Jughead catches her glance towards him as he ever-so quickly steals his eyes away from the road for just the briefest moment before returning his focus to driving as he offers a suggestion for themselves.

"Can we make a pact to try and relax? We're too good for first-date nerves. We know each other too well. We have nearly two decades of history and a three-year-old to show for how well we know each other."

Betty chuckles at Jughead's suggestion, feeling just a little reassured to hear that he is struggling with the same apprehension that she is as they try to find their feet as a couple once again, their familiarity almost working against them as they rekindle their relationship.

"I am very agreeable to that idea" Betty replies with a nervous giggle as his eyes flick back towards her before returning to the road.

A brief moment of silence passes between them before Betty looks to him, watching him drive them to their surprise destination as he speaks up conversationally.

"So, my dad is planning to take Bailey to _Pops_ for dinner tonight. I honestly don't know who out of the two of us was more excited for tonight."

Betty chuckles, fully able to imagine her daughter's doting grandfather who has never made any secret of the fact that he'd hoped that she and Jughead would give things a second chance.

 _"That_ doesn't sound like your dad..." Betty says, trailing off sarcastically with another giggle before she responds to the other part of his statement. " _Pops_ for dinner? That's going to make someone a happy little girl... She's her father's daughter, that one."

Jughead sends a quick grin in Betty's direction as she continues speaking, both of them seeming to grow more relaxed and comfortable since addressing their mutual nerves.

"Have I ever told you that that was one of Bailey's first words?"

"What was? _Pops_?"

With his eyes focused on the road ahead as he navigates the darkened winding road, Jughead doesn't see Betty's nod of response which she goes to elaborate on.

"Yeah, _Pops_. If I remember right, it went 'mama', 'no', 'me', and then ' _Pops'_. My dad was pretty bitterly disappointed when he realised that she was referring to the _diner_ and not him."

While Jughead chuckles at Betty's recount proudly, he can't deny feeling the stab of bitter among the sweet. He's hearing about what he missed out on and what he should have been there for, after all.

Then, as his chuckle subsides, it fades away to a heavy sigh that is filled with self-inflicted disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Betts. I wish I was there."

From the passenger's seat, Betty reaches out to give his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"A fresh start, remember? We can't change the past, we can only control where we go from here."

#

Meanwhile with her parents out on their date, FP takes Bailey to the small town diner that is both her mother's workplace and the place that he knows both his son and granddaughter love for dinner.

Upon arriving and taking their seats of Bailey's choice, FP picks up the menu as he looks over to his granddaughter.

"Now, Bailey, because you're the expert here I think that you're going to have to help Grandpa choose what to eat."

A ripple of joy spreads across the three-year-olds face at the moment of relative authority and responsibility, as FP speaks to her as though it's a serious matter of great importance. However, after her initial delight, a little flicker of realisation follows Bailey's original expression.

"Don't you go-ed to _Pop's_ , Grandpa?"

The three-year-old watches her grandfather intently as he complacently shakes his head at her question.

"No, not really sweetheart."

"But where do you get your food when you're not at your house?!"

Bailey asks the question with a great deal of concern for her grandfather evident on her face. It's almost as though she has no comprehension of there being any other eateries or establishments in the world. To the three-year-old, it's almost as though you either eat at your home, you eat at _Pop's_ or you don't eat at all.

"Well _I_ go somewhere called The Whyte Worm" FP explains to his granddaughter, watching the little girl's expression as she smiles brightly while listening intently.

"White Worms! I want to go there! Let's go to your place next time, Grandpa."

Chuckling at Bailey's reaction and excitement over the establishment that he imagines is very, very different from his granddaughter's expectations and preconceived ideas. FP realises _just_ how inappropriately named 'The Whyte Worm' is for the establishment it is.

"I think your mum would have my head, Bailey Jones" FP responds, chuckling to himself at the phrase that would fly straight over the three-year-olds head. "How about we have a picnic at a playground next time instead?"

Nodding her head, Bailey takes to her grandfather's more suitable suggestion of a playground just as enthusiastically as she had to the idea of going to a small town gang's dark and surly bar.

"Okay Grandpa, next time!"

#

When it came to ordering, Bailey had advised her grandfather that while chicken nuggets and chips are her 'best favourite', he might like a burger, because she thinks that it's her daddy's 'best favourite'. So, FP ordered exactly as per Bailey's suggestions, asking her advice on everything from condiments to what drink he should get, filling the three-year-old with pride at feeling like her opinion has been deemed as important.

After they finished their dinner, FP planned to take Bailey home for some ice-cream with a side of cartoons before settling her down for bed.

However, as FP finishes paying for their meal as Bailey stands beside him, the little girl's attention is captured as she releases a little gasp before bolting from her grandfather's side.

"Casey!"

"Hi sweetheart" Casey says with a genuinely joyful smile as his exes three-year-old launches herself into his arms. He picks her up and holds her in his arms as they hug before pulling away to look at each other.

"You've gotten so much taller since I last saw you. Who gave you permission to get so grown up, Miss Bailey?!"

Bailey giggles cheerfully at the older man's teases, delighting in being told that she's looking bigger and more grown up, just as any three-year-old loves to hear.

"Soon I'll be up in the sky!" Bailey replies optimistically, leaving a grin on Casey's face as he asks her the next question.

"So have you been good? Are you and your mummy good? I hope you've been looking after her for me."

Bailey nods enthusiastically at Casey's questions, wearing a big, wide grin on her face.

"Mummy said-ed that you can't play with us very much... But you should come over and play at my house again. I missed you!"

Casey exhales a heavy sigh. He doesn't want to disappoint her or crush the excitement of the little girl in his arms, nor does he want to lie to her and give her false hope simply because that's the easiest thing to do in that moment.

"I missed you too, but your mummy's right. I'm really sorry Bailey but I can't come over and play with you very much anymore. Maybe one day... But, even though that's changed a little bit, I'm still your friend Bailey and I'm still your mummies friend."

Recalling the same conversation that she had just eluded to moments earlier, Bailey gives her mother's ex-boyfriend a little smile looking up to him.

"Mummy said-ed that, too... I'm happy you're still my friend."

Casey gives the little girl that he had been willing to step up as a stepfather to not all that long ago a little squeeze in his arms before carefully putting her down on the ground just as he notices the older man approaching the two of them with a cautious eye.

"Bailey? Who are you talking to? We're leaving in a minute."

Casey steps in first, noting the way that despite the fact that he's talking to his granddaughter, FP has kept his attention fixed firmly on him. So, he steps forward, offering a hand out to shake.

"Hi, I'm Casey Turner. I'm Betty's ex. Sorry, I won't keep you guys, it's just been a little while since I've had a chance to see Bailey."

FP nods, continuing to eye the other man off cautiously as he steps forward and puts a protective hand on his granddaughter's shoulder after shaking the hand that Casey had put forward.

"Right. I'm her grandfather."

As both men stand there nodding, Casey speaks up again after drawing conclusions and filling in the blanks seeing as he has met Bailey's other grandfather, Hal.

"Ah, Jughead's dad..."

FP nods at the other man's statement, still watching him closely as he is struck with a sudden protectiveness, realising that he sure as hell isn't going to let anyone or anything get in the way of his son rekindling his relationship with his daughter's mother.

Consequently, getting both a little overprotective and a little irrational on behalf of his son, FP takes it to an over-the-top degree and to a slightly unnecessary measure in ensuring that no one and nothing will get in the way of Betty and Jughead getting back together.

"Yeah, I'm his dad. Seeing as the two of them are out _together_. I've got Bailey for the night."

Casey nods slowly, the briefest flicker of pain striking him at what FP's telling him. If his words alone weren't enough, the forceful look that accompanies what FP is implying truly wraps it all up in a little bow.

"Look, would you mind saying hi to Betty for me? Jughead, too..." there's a pause as Casey takes a deep breath, followed by his smile that is just a little bittersweet.

"I'm not surprised that they're back together, I hope it'll work out for them. I'm just glad that's happy. She deserves that."

As he takes his granddaughter's hand into his own, FP's glare softens a little upon realising that he'd come off a little too strong at first, realising that it wasn't entirely necessary. After all, that same man had seen what was unfolding before his eyes just weeks ago, stepping back then, just as he has done so again today.

Then, after a quick goodbye to FP and a wave to Bailey with a smile that takes a little more effort, Casey leaves them to it, walking away once again.

#

Jughead had outdone himself in his efforts for his _second_ first date with the mother of his child.

Despite the short turnaround time and timeframe that he had to scrounge up his best for Betty, Jughead had spent the night before researching and looking for inspiration. Then, he woke up early the following day to spend his entire morning shopping and tracking down the bits and pieces he needed, spending his afternoon travelling back and forth between the Southside and Sweetwater River to create an absolutely picturesque setting overlooking the River.

It is _beautiful_...

Small candles are scattered around the plains of the ground, barely illuminating the small table that is set for two, along with the nearby picnic blanket that is embellished with cushions and throws, looking like something straight off of Pinterest.

Betty had burst out loud with laughter as Jughead revealed their meals to be two _Pop's_ bags containing their favourite orders sitting on the table setting that is surrounded with effort.

They ate their takeaway meals slowly despite the fact that they were rapidly growing cold. For a rare moment in Jughead's life, he is more fixated with his company than he is with his food.

Across the small fold-up table, their hands held one another's as they sipped a glass of champagne followed by another, chatting about one topic after another as their relaxed conversation flows seamlessly, after the stilted start in FP's truck as a result of the nerves that they were both fighting off.

Now they find themselves sharing the picnic blanket, lying down and looking up at the sky, watching the stars above them through the clearing.

They had started off just holding hands, their arms brushing against one another's as they lay side-by-side. Then, slowly and gradually, they had both warmed to and grown more comfortable with each other's touch and embrace, to the point where they find themselves now with his arms wrapped around her shoulders, holding him close to her as she rests her head against his chest, both of them looking up to the sky brimming with stars above them.

Barely able to wipe the smile off her face, Betty exhales a content little sigh that tells of her enjoyment of the evening thus far, reflecting on all that he has done to sweep her off her feet. His company and effort has left her feeling so utterly happy and relaxed as she lays there with him.

"I must say, you really have become quite the romantic, Mr. Jones..."

He glances down to where she is sprawled out across his chest, almost feeling the need to pinch himself to believe that he's there with her. Then, brushing a lazy hand through her golden locks with a smile, Jughead sacrifices sarcasm in favour of the truth.

"Yeah, well I've learnt my lesson the hard way to do my best for and hold onto the good things and the important people with all that I can; not to let go. I've learnt not to take anything for granted..."

Jughead looks down at her in his arms again with a little smile, as he presses a gentle kiss to the top of her hair. He feels the peace of a second chance, the opportunity to right his wrongs and to prove himself to her as he speaks up again to reinforce what he had just said moments earlier.

"Trust me. I won't be making that mistake again."

Betty nods feebly, glancing away.

After all, she hopes not. She _so_ desperately, desperately wants to believe him, but she was hurt too badly not to feel the fear of the alternative -that she knows all too well- deep within her.

With a deep, yet shaky breath, Betty realises just how easy it would be to give him a feigned smile, to go along with the moment and she realises just how easy it would be to fall back on her habit of faking the smile and making the face that is appropriate in that moment. But, Betty also realises that pushing the truth and her honest feelings away to just build and multiply for another day won't get them anywhere, that it's no way to start their relationship again.

So, she takes the harder path for herself and the more painful option for him, choosing to lay out the truth honestly with the hope of dealing with it today rather than at a later date.

"I really, really hope so, Jug. I want to believe you more than anything... Now, I know that I was the one who was labouring the point of a fresh start earlier tonight but I think that you should know how I feel and you should know that I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm scared of getting hurt again."

Seeing as she's glancing away from where she's lying against his chest, Betty misses the way that Jughead flinches at the harsh truth of her words. But, he's glad to be hearing the _truth_ from her nonetheless, no matter how hard it is to hear.

"I don't blame you, Betts... While _I'm_ feeling on top of the world at being given a second chance, I understand _you_ feeling the way that you do, too. After all, as much as I might wish to take it back and as much as you might want to forget that it ever happened, what happened still happened. I know that I broke your heart and your trust so terribly before."

Jughead can feel Betty nod against his chest as his fingers continue to slowly run through her hair.

"You're right... What happened _happened_. Neither of us can do anything about that. But, despite the way that things are now, I honestly believe that we can work through it. I want you to prove my fears wrong and I want to trust you again. And, I truly think that we can get to that point."

Despite her fears and despite her hesitations, Betty focuses on him and the way that she had been feeling with him just before she raised her honest concerns to him. She slowly, ever so slowly, wiggles her way up his chest a little to reach up and press his lips to hers in a chaste kiss that is highly reflective of their relationship in that moment...

 _Slow_.

* * *

 **I hope you liked the chapter! We had a bit of Bughead, a bit of FP & Jug, a bit of FP & Bailey and of course, Betty & Jug's second first date. I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter. There'll be a lot more Bughead coming up, but baby steps...**

 **Also, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who left a comment on the last chapter. I loved reading of your excitement over their reunion and I'm looking forward to sharing the rest of their journey with you!**

 **As a side note, don't forget to check out my tumblr (riverheadcf) as I posted a little visual glimpse into their date and I'll continue trying to post sneak peeks of my stories on there.**

 **Next chapter:** **Betty & Jughead have a couple's night with Veronica and Archie. However, Veronica's distrust of Jughead bubbles beneath the surface, threatening to ruin the evening. **


	41. Mud Sticks

**CHAPTER FORTY ONE – Mud Sticks**

As has been customary for every Friday since Bailey turned one over two years ago now, she spends her day with her grandparents. Since FP had her last Friday, this week is Alice and Hal's turn.

Normally Bailey would stay with either FP or Betty's parents until her mother would collect her just before dinner. Today, however, Betty and Jughead are having dinner with their best friend's, right next door to the Cooper home, so Betty had asked her parents to look after Bailey for most of the night, arranging to pick her up on the way home.

To start off her child-free day, Betty met up with Jughead for breakfast, before racing off to get all her odd jobs done approximately ten times faster without a three-year-old by her side to steal her attention away. Then, a little later on in the day, the young mother made a salad to take before getting dressed and ready for the evening, treating herself to doing her hair _and_ makeup.

Meanwhile, after they parted ways and after their breakfast date, Jughead spent his day going door-to-door and from business to business throughout the small town, doing a résumé drop.

Since deciding to move home to Riverdale from Oklahoma, Jughead has been searching for and hoping to find some employment to support himself and to maybe even look at moving out of his father's run-down trailer.

However, despite all his effort, his day has turned up with absolutely no success and with no one telling him of any current or upcoming job positions. Not to mention, Jughead himself had witnessed the majority of people scrunching the paper he would hand them up, often throwing it in the bin before he's even left the establishment.

Later that day and after their separate afternoons, the new couple meet up again with Jughead dropping past Betty's apartment. The two of them had coordinated to go to dinner at their best friend's home together.

Consequently, just after five thirty that afternoon, there's an expected knock at the door of Betty's apartment. Moments later, the young girl bellows out for her visitor to " _come in_ _!_ " as she slips into her heels and flattens down her dress before emerging from her bedroom to her smirking guest.

"Do you just invite anyone and everyone who knocks on your door straight inside? You're lucky it's only me."

"Not everyone, _just_ the cute ones" Betty grins as she waltzes across the room to press a quick kiss to her boyfriend's lips.

Pulling away from each other, Jughead laces their fingertips together as they remain standing close to each other.

Betty's hair is styled into a soft up-do with a few golden curls falling around her face and she is wearing a light layer of makeup, only accentuated by the pop of coral coloured gloss coating her lips. Her summer dress comes halfway to her knees, with the light material flowing down and cascading around her flatteringly.

"You look beautiful..." he smiles, casting his gaze up and down the woman standing in front of him, his attention lingering on her and eliciting a smile from her in the process.

"Thanks, Juggie. Not too bad yourself... Now, let's go."

#

With the new couple desperate to share the news of their reunion with their best friends, Betty had originally invited Jughead, Archie and Veronica over to her small apartment for dinner.

However, after Veronica had a word to her (telling her _all_ about Archie's whining to use his brand new BBQ that he hadn't had a chance to christen yet) the venue had been changed, with the young newlyweds having their friends over instead.

Honestly, Betty was relieved for the change of plans.

After all, entertaining anymore than one adult at a time made for a difficulty in her small apartment that she shares with Bailey. And, besides, Betty had really only invited her and Jughead's friends over for dinner with the purpose of sharing their news with them.

#

Rolling up to the Andrews' home, Jughead outright _refuses_ to take Betty's hand in his after she offers her free one to him for the short walk to the front door, while she carries her salad bowl with her other hand.

"No, Betts. No hand-holding. Your mother, your father and our daughter are all inside that house right there. None of them know that we're together... I'm about 96% sure that your mum will sense it and come running with those eagle eyes if we hold hands out in the open... Besides, I'm still not convinced that your parents _haven't_ wired Veronica and Archie's house in order to listen in tonight."

Betty chuckles at Jughead's dramatics and the very real fear on his face as he cautiously eyes off the Cooper home next door.

Then, after his rejection, Betty shifts her grip to hold her salad bowl with both hands instead as they walk up to the front door. Meanwhile, Jughead uses his free hand that isn't carrying the six pack of beers he brought to knock on the front door of what used to be his best friend's childhood home but is now the home that he shares with his wife.

Moments after their knock, Archie answers the door warmly, throwing Jughead in a man-hug, followed by a marginally gentler one as he embraces Betty. Holding the door open for them, Archie welcomes his friends into his home as they carry their offerings inside.

The door has barely been closed behind them before Veronica races over to her best friend, throwing her arms around her in a way that almost results in the salad bowl being dropped and shattered before Betty manages to steady herself, unprepared for her friend's greeting.

As the hostess then moves to greeting Jughead, the moment is far less warm and fuzzy. Veronica gives Jughead a quick smile, debating whether or not to hug him before opting to offer to take the salad bowl in Betty's hands and the beers from Jughead's instead.

The group of four trail through to the lounge room with Veronica offering out the beers that Jughead brought to the boys before turning to Betty.

"I made sangria! Can I get you some, B?"

Betty giggles at her friend's enthusiasm, just shaking her head and opting for a glass of water instead.

Veronica tries again, pleading the fact that she can't drink it all on her own, without any luck. So, she just gives in with a nonchalant shrug, pouring an even larger glass for herself and bringing the water over to Betty.

Then, once Veronica has sorted everyone out with drinks and brought a platter of dips and cheeses over to the table, Betty and Jughead share a glance triggering her to force out a little cough as she clears her throat deliberately, grabbing her two friend's attention.

"So... It's all very new, but Jughead and I wanted the two of you to be one of the first to know that we're together..."

As Betty trails off with a smile feeling her hand being taken by Jughead for a quick squeeze, Archie is almost instantly up and out of his seat, throwing his arms around both his best friends. He's thrilled for them. However, his wife lingers behind him a little less joyfully, before she wraps Betty in a warm hug.

Unlike Archie, Veronica is _not_ thrilled.

Her fears for her best friend over her boyfriend are still ever-present. After all, she still doesn't trust the man who left four years ago, leaving a trail of damage behind him; especially not with one of the most important people in her life.

However, Veronica sees the smile that radiates through Betty's eyes and she notes the way that she is glowing brightly. So, knowing that Betty is undoubtedly wise enough to factor in the risks of the decision that she had made on both her and her daughter's behalf, Veronica chooses to concentrate on Betty's _joy_ in that moment rather than her _fears_ for her.

"I'm happy you're happy, B" Veronica whispers into Betty's curls as she holds her in her arms for a moment before the two friends pull away from one another. The raven-haired girl then moves to give Jughead a far less enthusiastic, obligatory hug of congratulations.

After the excitement and celebratory hugs begin to die down, Betty goes on to remind Veronica and Archie to keep it between them, with only his father and the two of them knowing so far as Jughead and Betty endeavour to keep their news on the down-low. After all, Betty's parents haven't been told, not all that long ago Betty was in a relationship with another man and they want to give it a little time before explaining their relationship to their daughter.

So, after Veronica and Archie take a vow of silence, the two couples return to their conversation and banter as they lounge around in the living area of the Andrews home with their drinks and nibbles.

#

After Archie announces that he should probably make a start on cooking the meat, the two men trail outside together, leaving Betty and Veronica to gossip alone. The two of them then head for the kitchen, preparing to make a start on the cheesecake for dessert and chopping the fruit to layer on top. Knowing that Veronica will take far longer than necessary to prepare dessert, Betty offers to help her friend out and much to Veronica's delight.

Married life sans hired help had been a rude awakening for Veronica. Many domestic tasks still take a lot longer than they should for Veronica and she's had to learn to develop a lot of new ones. While Archie helps out where he can, working full-time and most weekends after taking the reins of Andrews Construction hadn't left him with as much time on his hands as Veronica who works from home, during the hours that suit her, working on and continuing to establish her successful online business venture.

After the girls stroll through to the kitchen and wash their hands, Veronica hands Betty a chopping board as the girls come to stand-by-side at the bench top. Almost instantly after they take their places, Veronica glances across to her best friend with an eager eye.

"So... _Jughead_..."

Betty looks to her friend with a little smirk before looking away again, focusing on her fruit.

"Yeah... Now _thank you_ for acting at least a little bit excited for the two of us, V. I know you... I can tell that you still don't approve of him entirely."

Veronica lips purse after Betty's comment. She should have counted on the fact that her best friend knows her well enough to detect when she isn't being entirely genuine. In her reply, she doesn't labour the point that she realises that Betty is well aware of. But, instead, she sets her personal feelings aside in favour of being a friend.

"So, when did _that_ happen?"

"It's been a gradual thing... In hindsight, there were a few moments when we got a little bit too close while I was still with Casey, though we did tell him about when Jughead went to kiss me while we were away in Oklahoma. Then, since breaking up with Case, things have been steadily progressing. There have been a few more moments and a couple of kisses. Then, about a week ago we talked our issues through as best as we could and we realised that trying to put our feelings aside was only intensifying them."

Veronica nods as she listens to her friend's explanation, glancing between Betty and the food that she is preparing.

"So how are things going with round two, then?"

"Good. We're going well, so far..." Betty begins, trailing off with a warm smile on her face. "Admittedly, it is taking a little bit to get back into the swing of things together, but really I think that's just because everything is so new. After all, the people we are and the situation that we're in now is so, completely different to four years ago that even though we're _technically_ giving our relationship a second shot, it's almost like starting from scratch again."

Again, Veronica nods silently, having realised that she doesn't trust herself not to give responses that haven't been tainted by her unpleasant feelings towards Jughead. However, her silence seems to be working quite well for her given that Betty is on a bit of a roll, finding it difficult to stop gushing about her newly rekindled relationship with the father of her child.

After pausing to allow a moment of silence to pass, Betty looks to her best friend once again, giving her a smile that just radiates across her face as she summarises her answer to Veronica's original question.

"I'm happy, V... I am really, really happy to be with Jug again."

At hearing this, Veronica is able to give Betty her most genuine response after watering down her true feelings over the last few minutes. This time, Veronica shares Betty's smile as she pauses from her cheesecake in order to gently nudge the blonde in the hip.

" _Well_ , that's all I need to know..."

Betty smiles at seeing her friend's genuine feeling of happiness for her. Then, she returns to busying herself with chopping the fruit for dessert as she asks the next question, steering the conversation away from herself in order to focus on Veronica for a few minutes.

"That's enough about me... Now, what about you? How are you and Archie going? What's new with you two?"

Veronica exhales a dramatic sigh before answering Betty's question in a manner that is equally as amped up.

"Ugh what's new with us? _Nothing_... We're just a boring, old, married couple now."

Betty chuckles, discreetly shaking her head to herself at her best friend's dramatics, knowing that Veronica still hasn't quite grown used to small-town life. Life in the big city is still her natural habitat, along with the drama to go with it.

"Believe me when I say that sometimes nothing new is a good thing... How's work going?"

"Work's fine, it's steady, but honestly that's just as boring as everything else is."

"Do you think that babies and starting a family is on the horizon for you two at one point or another?"

Veronica pauses for a moment, thoughtfully considering Betty's question before she replies to it.

"Yeah, I think so... We've spoken about it a couple of times but the plan is to hold off for another five years or so. I want to work on expanding my business a bit more before and I think Archie wants the company to be a little more settled and firmly established under his management before we focus on a family."

Nodding at her friend's explanation, Betty fails at trying to hide her giggle after listening to Veronica.

" _Ha_ , I remember having a plan, too... I believe it involved being married and roughly ten years older than sixteen-and-pregnant."

With a smile on her face, Betty appreciates the feeling of reaching the point where she is able to make a joke of her teen pregnancy, as her friend just laughs along before responding to her quip.

"Well, so as long as I stop Archie getting too clucky by keeping him away from your ridiculously adorable daughter as much as I can, I think we should be able to keep it at bay for a few more years."

#

While the girls are inside chattering away and preparing dessert, the two men stand out and around the barbecue on the patio, beers in-hand.

Armed with a pair of tongs, Archie's doing all the work as Jughead stands beside him, drinking and watching his friend cook up tonight's dinner as he keeps him company.

As they chat away, Archie notes the way that Jughead keeps standing up on his tippy toes distractedly, looking over the fence and into the Cooper's yard. Archie has a pretty good idea that it's because he's hoping to catch a glimpse of a certain little girl.

"So how are things going with Bailey?"

Prompted by Archie's question, the grin that spreads across the dark-haired man's face purely from the mention of his daughter is instantaneous. Jughead doesn't need to say a word to give Archie a clear answer to his question, but he does.

"I'm loving being a dad... I'm having a great time getting to know her, seeing all the little ways that she's like Betty, all the little ways that she's like me and all the little ways that she's her own little person."

Archie nods, grinning at the glow on Jughead's face before he raises his next question to him.

"Has it all been going okay? I can't imagine it's the easiest thing in the world to jump into fatherhood with no time to prepare and a kid that's already been in the world for three years..."

Jughead ponders Archie's question reflectively for a moment, taking the time to reflect on how surprisingly easy it has been for the most part to become involved in Bailey's life and to be a part of Betty's again.

"Honestly, I'm grateful for how smooth it has been. Thankfully Bailey is such a warm and friendly little girl that it's made it almost too easy for me to become involved in her life. I mean if she were to take after me more, I think it would have taken about six years for her to warm up to me and get to this point..."

Archie nods and the smile on Jughead's face seems to be contagious, spreading to his own face as his best friend continues to gush about his three-year-old.

"When I stop and think about, it's all still a bit crazy to me. Like, even just a few months ago, I had no idea that little girl existed and now she's my entire world... I'd do anything for her, anything to make her happy."

After turning the sausages and lamb chops over on the barbecue, Archie looks over to one of his best friend's with a smile as he utters an honest confession that keeps the smile lingering on Jughead's face for a few moments longer.

"I always knew that you'd be a good dad, Jug."

"Thanks..." he replies, clearly a little coy as he looks down to the ground with a sigh. "I'm trying... But, I know that I still have a hell of a lot of time to make up for, with both girls."

Archie gives Jughead a nod of understanding. He's not denying that there's an awful lot of damage that had been done and that still needs to be repaired, there was no denying that. However, Archie doesn't reaffirm the fact that Jughead _is_ right and that there _is_ a lot that still needs to be done and proven, nor does he lie through his teeth and reassure him that it's all good. Instead, he changes tack, nudging Jughead in his side with a grin as he shifts the path of the conversation.

"Speaking of the girls, it's so great that you and Betty are giving things a second go. You guys deserve to be happy together."

Jughead just smiles at his best friend.

"Thanks Arch... I'm a pretty damn lucky guy."

Honestly, thinking back to his life just a few short months ago, Jughead can barely believe where he is at now. While he was happy enough with Doug, he was just working, filling his hours and going to bed before it started all over again. He was living without _really_ living his life.

Now, he's a father to a three-year-old that has completely stolen his heart and he's been given a second chance with the woman he's loved for as long as he can remember.

However, it hasn't been smooth sailing. There's been an enormity of pain from the realisation and the extent of just _what_ Jughead had left behind when he left Riverdale and his life behind all those years ago, along with the guilt that he doesn't believe that he'll truly recover from. Then, not too long ago and right at a moment of weakness, he'd lost one of his best friend's suddenly, hitting him for six.

But, Jughead has made it through some of the hardest days of his life and he's kept going, he's kept trying and over just a few months he has found himself in a better place than he can ever remember, let alone that he ever could have _hoped_ to find himself in.

#

By a little later on in the night, a few more drinks have been downed and while they've finished and cleaned up dinner, they haven't quite moved onto dessert just yet.

The two couples are clearly relaxed as they sit around the table, chatting and laughing. Veronica is slouched into her husband's muscular shoulder with the impact of single-handedly conquering her sangria beginning to take effect. The newlyweds are sitting across the table from the young parents whose legs are tangled below the table as they hold hands with interwoven fingers.

Archie is midway through telling a story of just a handful of this week's misfortunes animatedly. Being spurred on by both his wife and best friend's reactions, his story rapidly grows more and more exaggerated and over-the-top as he goes on.

"At least your bad day was actually exciting... Mine was awful and freaking wasteful of both my time and paper" Jughead says, responding grumpily at the reminder of the hours that he had wasted earlier in the day.

"Aw..." Betty consoles, only a little teasingly as she presses a kiss to his cheek before whispering in his ear. "I hope it wasn't _all_ bad. I heard that you had breakfast with someone pretty great to start your day off..."

With Archie and Veronica really only hearing Jughead's grumbles and not whatever Betty had just said to him in response, the red-head speaks up with a furrowed brow, pausing from his own story to listen to his friend.

"What happened to your day?"

" _Job-hunting_ happened to my day... I dropped my résumé in to just about every business in town throughout the course of the day with absolutely no luck. Every single person I spoke to was coy about whether there are any jobs available or any upcoming positions and you have no idea how many times I actually saw people throw my résumé out, basically right in front of my face."

Archie's face scrunches up empathetically and Betty's eyebrows furrow unhappily at hearing what Jughead had already whinged to her about earlier, sympathising for her boyfriend over the cold attitude that he had been shown by the fellow townspeople.

Unlike the compassion of the other two, Veronica, however, just rolls her eyes, muttering something under her breath that sends three pairs of eyes flying over to her.

" _Well_ , mud sticks..."

With one seated beside her and the other across from her, Betty and Archie look over to Veronica warily after her brief remark. However, despite the looks on their faces, it's Jughead who speaks up and calls her out on whatever she has just muttered to herself -though not discreetly enough- which clearly _wasn't_ intended for other people's ears.

"What did you say?"

Veronica looks bewildered for just a moment. Her deep eyes are wide with panic at the fact that she'd been overheard. However, it doesn't last long at all before she is filled with confidence, repeating what she had just said with a little more conviction.

"I _said_ that mud sticks, Jughead... I mean that there's a reason why people aren't giving you the time of day and there's a reason why people aren't falling at your feet to give you a second chance."

While they had both been looking over to Veronica just moments ago, Betty and Archie are now looking to each other cautiously. They both worry that they may know what is coming and they both fear for Veronica's slurs seeing as she has clearly had a few too many glasses of her punchy sangria to think about the words and thoughts that her loose lips are spilling freely. She has no regard for what she's saying, or the impact that her harsh truths will have on her best friend's boyfriend.

Then, shifting up from where she had been nestled against her husband's muscular shoulder, Veronica sits up, squinting at Jughead. She's preparing herself to continue her aggressive slurs aimed at the man sitting across from her, with the next blow leaving her best friend glaring at her, unimpressed, as she clutches onto her boyfriend's hand, worrying about the ramifications of the words that slip from Veronica's lips...

"Look, while you might have been damn lucky enough to receive Betty's undeserved forgiveness, the town hasn't forgotten about the fact that _we_ were all there for Betty and Bailey when you sure as hell _weren't_... Mud _sticks_ , Jughead."

* * *

 **Let me know what you thought of that one! Poor Jughead, not only is he blaming himself, but he can't seem to catch a break. However, that is something which will be brought up quite a number of times over the coming chapters with both he and Betty trying to deal with and work through together. And you learnt that Veronica's an aggressive drunk, ha ha.**

 **Thank you to violet1429, Marie King, hopelessromantic618, PerfectlySquare3826, Bughead4Life and JugBet for leaving a review on the last chapter. I appreciate your feedback immensely.**

 **Next chapter: Veronica tries to make amends, Jughead learns the extent of the town supporting Betty and then he receives a surprising opportunity. Also, we have another flashback! **


	42. It Takes A Village

**CHAPTER FORTY TWO – It Takes A Village**

When Veronica's drunken verbal blow essentially brought an end to their couple's dinner, Betty and Jughead didn't hang around for very long after that. Betty was seething at her best friend's brutal honesty towards her boyfriend, fearing for the impact that it would have on Jughead and his self confidence.

So, after they left the Andrews and just before collecting their daughter from her grandparents home right next door, Betty and Jughead went for a walk around the block to debrief after the way that what _had_ been a pleasant evening ended.

Betty knows that she'll have to try to explain to him what Veronica had meant at some point, but right now is not the time. For now, she knows that she needs to focus on bolstering him up and ensuring that Veronica's cutting remark doesn't cut too deep, stirring up the guilt that she knows still weighs on him to a crushingly heavy degree.

Then, after transferring their sleeping daughter from Betty's old bedroom in her childhood home to her car, the two make their way to Betty and Bailey's apartment, Jughead staying for a coffee that Betty _insists_ on before making his own way home to his father's trailer. The entire way home and until they send their 'goodnight' messages, Jughead is flooded with texts from Betty ensuring that he's okay and telling him that she's there to talk if he feels like it.

That night, Betty doesn't get an awful lot of sleep. Instead, she spends the night tossing and turning over and over again, worrying about her boyfriend and what impact Veronica's blast may have on him.

After all, Betty knows how much Jughead still blames himself and she knows how much guilt he carries around over failing her and missing out on the first three-and-a-half years of their daughter's life. And, on top of all that, Betty knows that all of his guilt and blame is a domino effect as a result of Jughead's decision to end his life all those years ago. She knows that it is still a highly sensitive issue and she knows how high the stakes are given his history.

Following her abysmal night of sleep, given that her daughter doesn't race in and wake her up until a little later in the morning, Betty sleeps in a little longer than usual. Her plan is to message Jughead as soon as she's up and visit him as soon as she can get herself and Bailey fed, dressed and out the door.

However, Betty and Bailey are not the first, or even the second, visitors to the Jones trailer that day...

#

The first visitor that rolls up to the front door of the Joneses trailer in the Sunnyside Trailer Park the following morning is dressed prim and proper, embellished in high heels and pearls, and looking about a thousand times better than she feels as she battles a splitting headache.

As he answers the knock on the front door of his father's trailer, Jughead just about has to check that he's not still asleep and that Veronica's not just a recurring nightmare after the way that their evening had turned pear shaped last night.

"Look, I'm not here for a re-enactment of last night" Veronica begins, holding her hand out in front of her, as if bracing for a closing door. "I'd just like a chance to explain..."

Jughead looks at her expectantly, standing in silence as he crosses his arms and waits for his girlfriend's best friend to continue speaking and explaining as she seems to want to do.

"I'd be lying if I said that there wasn't some truth to what I said last night. I do think that perhaps your job hunting wasn't successful _because_ of Betty and Bailey. You see, the town did step up and a lot of people tried to help her out in a lot of different, little ways. I think that's why you had no luck yesterday. In the townspeople's minds, they're siding with Betty and in doing so, they think that means being cold towards you over everything that happened. You know what small towns are like; they don't forget."

Nodding slowly, Jughead does wonder what Veronica means by that, but he is glad to hear the fact that it was due to his girlfriend and daughter being supported. After all, a part of the reason why Veronica's brutal honesty had erupted the way it did last night was because it is still a sore point and most likely always will be, with Jughead just ready and waiting to blame himself for Betty and Bailey's situation after failing them for so long.

"However, I was out of line for what I did say after that and the way I said it. I'm sorry that I'd had too much to drink and I lost control of what I was saying. Again, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel the way I said I felt towards you last night."

Veronica pauses for a moment to take a deep breath and massage her temples momentarily, fighting off her ever-present hangover before continuing with her explanation.

"Honestly, I've been trying to put it to the side for Betty's sake, but I saw firsthand the way that you hurt my best friend. I saw all the pain she experienced, everything that she had to endure after you left and I saw how badly you broke her heart. I was there for all the times she'd sit there crying her heart out, blaming herself and torturing herself over the fact that her baby wasn't going to have a father because of your fight the night you left town. I was there for all the times when Bailey was a newborn and she was so completely overwhelmed and felt so in over her head; when she wasn't even sure whether or not she could even do it. I was there _all_ of it... You broke her, Jughead, and she blamed herself."

Jughead swallows heavily, his eyes glazing over at Veronica's harsh honesty. When she opens her mouth and begins to speak up again, he's not quite sure how much more of it he can take.

"I'm sorry, I know all of that must be really hard for you to hear, but that was the reality of it. Just imagine how many times harder it was for Betty to have to _live_ through that than it is harder for you to just hear that. That's _why_ I'm finding it so hard to forgive and forget, Jughead..."

Trailing off, Veronica takes another deep breath, looking down to the ground momentarily before looking up and looking her best friend's boyfriend in the eye again.

"Last night brought home the fact that I have a real problem with you. I thought that I could keep pushing it to the side for Betty's sake. But, after I lashed out at you, I realised that I need to deal with it because now I know that there's no middle ground. So, seeing as Betty of all people has been able to forgive you and move on, I think I need to try to, too... It might take me a while, but I will do my best to try and get rid of the chip on my shoulder. However, it comes with the condition that if you leave her and Bailey again or if you hurt her, I swear that you will wish you never came back. Understood?"

Jughead simply nods his head in response to his girlfriend's protective best friend. He doesn't agree and he doesn't make a promise to Veronica. Rather, he tells her what he'd told Betty, explaining _how_ he'll make good of his chance.

"Like I said to Betty, I honestly don't think that I'm ever going to be able to forgive myself for the hell that I put her through and the fact that I missed three whole years of my daughter's life... Last night you said that Betty's forgiveness is undeserved. You're right. I know that I don't deserve it. I know that. So, I'm going to continue to do my damn best to make the most of this chance. It won't make sense to you, but I left because I was trying to protect her... I've never wanted to hurt her and I hope I never will again."

Veronica succumbs with a sigh, giving in to the idea of giving Jughead a second chance like Betty herself had, feeling satisfied enough with what he's telling her, so long as he proves to follow through with what he's saying.

Then, when everything seems to be said and done, Veronica announces that she'll be leaving, turning around as she begins to head for the door of the small trailer, not hanging around for the grand tour of all two, cramped bedrooms.

However, Jughead has one more thing he has to say, before Veronica leaves, catching her attention by calling her name. She stops on the spot with the door handle in her hand as she looks back to face him.

"Veronica? Thank you for being there for her."

After the genuine thank you, Veronica gives her best friend's boyfriend a small smile. She stands there and lingers on the spot, nipping at her lip and pauses from her original plan to leave as she looks back at Jughead, imitating his actions, by saying his name to him from across the room.

"Jughead? There's one more thing. You said that you were having trouble with job hunting... If you want, you can list me and Archie as personal references on your résumé, if you'd like. Being locals with our own businesses, we'll probably carry a bit more weight to fellow townspeople than your employer in Oklahoma. Good luck."

#

 **A little over four years ago...**

 _Betty, Veronica and Archie had decided to meet up at the Pembrooke after school to revise for their finals. However, they knew all the while that it would turn out to be Betty and Veronica doing the revising while Archie distracted himself and them with various things_ _ **other**_ _than homework._

 _Currently, Betty is six and a half months pregnant with just under two months of school remaining._

 _While there is not an awful lot that Betty finds herself feeling thankful for in her situation as she's set to be a single, teen mother, one thing that she_ _ **is**_ _grateful for is the timing of her pregnancy. After all, she and her friends are due to finish their final year of high school by the beginning of June, with Betty's due date falling in early July, enabling her to finish high school with a cap-and-gown and a Diploma in her hand before having she and Jughead's first child._

" _Now, before we get back into it, can I get you anything, B?"_

 _Veronica has been incredible to her. Right from the very first, terrifying moments when a few rough calculations left a heartbroken sixteen-year-old girl fearing that her situation was about to get a whole lot messier than just a bad breakup, Veronica had been there to make an uncomfortable purchase at the local chemist. Then, she was there to hold her best friend in her arms a little later in the day as they waited through an agonisingly painful ten minutes._

 _In every way she possibly could since then, Veronica had been right there beside her best friend to navigate the nerve-wracking waters that felt far too deep for her._

 _She had waited outside of rooms through doctor's appointments that Betty insisted on entering alone. She had held back golden locks when morning sickness finally began to hit as all-day-sickness. She had tried to keep up-to-date with Betty's pregnancy, reading up on what could be expected, what might be needed and how she could help her best friend with every passing week._

 _So many times a day Veronica checked if there was anything that Betty was lacking, anything she needed and anything she could do to help her and keep her comfortable and as stress-free as possible._

" _No thanks, V. I'm fine" Betty replies with an appreciative smile, rubbing her burgeoning baby belly from where she's sitting and waiting at the dining table, their notes and textbooks sprawled out around them._

 _Armed with a fresh jug of water that she places between them, Veronica joins her friend at her dining table, as Betty looks up from her maths revision with a sigh._

" _I really don't give a damn about Pythagoras theorem. Right about now would be a great time for our maths homework to get a tad more practical. If only preparing a budget and ways to manage money and find enough to account for all the stuff I still need to buy for the baby is a part of the curriculum..."_

 _Veronica shoots her friend a sympathetic look, closing her maths textbook eagerly in order to talk shopping for a few minutes._

" _What do you still need to buy?"_

 _Betty sighs, running a hand over the top of her hair that has been slicked back into her signature, tight ponytail. Just from the thought of it, Betty can feel the weight closing in on her chest growing, finding it increasingly harder and harder to even breathe._

" _Just about everything... Polly's handed on a couple of things but the twins are still using basically everything she has. Beyond that, I've bought the odd outfit for the baby, a bassinet to start off with and you bought me that fancy nappy bag, but that's really about all that I've got. I'm going to have to wait for a little more money to come in to afford some of the bigger things that I need to get first and then I can spend whatever I have left on a couple of little things."_

 _Veronica nods at her friend, her expression soft and sympathetic as she listens to Betty._

" _Well, let me know if there's anything I do and any way I can help you out. I'm here to help you with whatever I can."_

" _Thanks, V... You have been absolutely incredible to me through everything, but this is my problem. I'm just feeling the pressure of the logistics of it all and how unprepared I am. I need to get a lot more money together in a short amount of time and I know I won't be able to work for too much longer. I'm just freaking out a bit about running out of time before I'll have a baby on my hands, ready or not."_

 _Veronica extends a hand out to squeeze Betty's free hand that isn't rubbing her baby belly._

" _Don't worry, B. You'll be ready and you'll be incredible. You're baking one incredibly lucky little baby in there and I know for a certainty that he or she is going to have the best mum in the world."_

 _While Veronica's words don't remedy Betty's situation and eradicate all the problems plaguing her, it does give the scared, young, mother-to-be a few brief moments of relief to hear her best friend's reassuring words and to believe for even just a few minutes that against the odds, everything_ _ **might**_ _all be okay._

 _However, despite the momentary pause from her nerves and her woes, Veronica's mind is ticking over, silently brainstorming ways that she can find a longer lasting fix and solution to Betty's problems..._

 _Just then, two girls are interrupted by their expected company who just waltzes straight into his girlfriend's family's home, heading straight for his girlfriend and his childhood best friend._

 _Taking a seat beside Betty and Veronica, Archie plants a quick kiss on his girlfriend's lips before reaching across and rubbing his best friend's belly, not that she minds it from him._

" _Hey girls... How's little BJ going, Betty? The little man better not be giving you too much grief today."_

 _Betty chuckles, momentarily glancing down to her growing baby belly before looking back up to the red-head._

 _Her unborn baby had been nicknamed 'BJ', or 'Baby Jones', early on in her pregnancy by the expectant uncle. Although Betty would never admit to it aloud, honestly Archie's nickname for her child had been a strong reason behind why Betty has been trawling through 'B' names in her baby naming books of late, with the initials rapidly growing on her._

" _Little man? I thought that the baby was a girl last week, according to you."_

 _As Betty shoots the redhead and amused looks, Veronica raises a single, stern eyebrow at Betty._

" _You know you could have settled that argument for once and for all, B..."_

" _I know" Betty just returns simply, leaving it at that._

 _After all, she knew that Veronica was_ _ **desperate**_ _to find out her unborn baby's gender. She wanted to know a colour scheme for Betty's baby shower and she wanted the excuse to start shopping for pink or blue. However, when Betty's twenty-week scan had come along nearly two months ago, Betty found herself reclining on the bed of her obstetricians office and shaking her head with certainty upon being asked whether she'd like to learn if she has a baby boy or a baby girl on the way._

 _Sure, it had been_ _ **tempting**_ _to nod instead, to find out whether to buy pink or blue and to know what section of her baby names book to focus her attention on. But, Betty couldn't bring herself to know. Not without Jughead. Not when it already feels wrong to her to be experiencing everything and every first that goes along with growing their baby without him. Not when he doesn't even know that their child exists..._

 _ **None of it**_ _feels right without him._

#

After that study session and inspired by her conversation with Betty, Veronica had come up with an idea. Then she teamed up with and sold her idea to Archie and Cheryl, with the three of them joining forces for the sake of the young mother-to-be.

While they didn't want Betty to catch any word of it and feel any embarrassment, the three of them -with Veronica as the ringleader- had started encouraging people throughout the small town to donate money and belongings to Betty who needed help more than ever.

It started off small, the three of them gathering what they could and doing what they could.

Veronica persuaded her parents to donate a generous amount for Betty to be able to get through at least some of the things on the list of what she needed to buy before Bailey's birth. Archie asked Fred to make a cot for Betty's newborn, only to learn that it was a side project that he'd already been working on. Meanwhile, Cheryl pawned off a family heirloom, justifying it with the reasoning that it was just as much _Betty's_ heirloom as it was hers.

Then, the trio spread their efforts a little further. Archie talked to the Bulldogs, Cheryl enlisted her posse and Veronica blasted just about anyone and everyone she crossed paths with, giving them a speech about what they were striving to do, encouraging them to help out.

From there, they spent about a fortnight spreading the word, trying to convey the message to and encourage –or _coerce_ in Cheryl's case- as many as people as possible to give as little or as much as they could to the local teenager who was in need, preparing to face life as a single mother to her unborn baby. After all, doing or giving even just a _little_ bit would be helping Betty and her baby in a _big_ way.

In the end, the result of their efforts had been _overwhelming_.

In addition to Cheryl's contributions, Veronica's push to get her family to make a sizable contribution and Archie asking his father to make a cot, many, many other people chipped in and gave a bit, where and how they could...

Reggie Mantle thought of the time that Betty handmade a card, getting everyone in their class to sign when his grandma passed away when they were about eight, leaving a touching impact on the jock. So, he would race to Betty between classes, offering to carry her books around for her to her next classes.

The elderly couple that live two doors down from the Coopers thought back to several years ago when Betty had diligently done odd jobs around their home for them. It was just simple things; things like pulling weeds, taking their newspaper into them and carrying the rubbish out but it was all simple jobs that Mrs. Watson could not do for a few weeks while recovering from her operation and that Mr. Watson didn't have the mobility to do for them.

After Kevin's suggestion, Sheriff Keller had called his wife who works away and the two of them discussed giving the mother-to-be Kevin's mothers aging car that sat cooped up in the garage for most of the year. Although the car was certainly nothing special, seeing as they already owned three cars between the three of them and after some convincing from Kevin for his best friend's sake, the Keller family eventually figured that Betty needed it more than they did.

The school librarian, Ms. Paroo remembers back to a few years ago how after she'd had a fall and sprained her wrist, Betty would go in during her breaks at school, sacrificing her lunchtime in order to help her out and do any tasks that she hadn't managed to do or couldn't do one-handed for her.

Pop Tate had set one day aside, publicising that for that throughout day, half of _all_ earnings he made from orders would be donated to Betty. He was doing it not only for the young mother-to-be's sake, but also with the young man who had been his best customer in mind.

Betty's grade seven teacher remembers just how immensely she had helped her out during her first few weeks of what was her first proper teaching job. The twelve-year-old would reassure her that she was doing a good job, tell her little things about her classmates to prepare for and how to manage them and she'd relay what other teachers would usually do in certain situations. With that in mind, her former teacher gave the young mother-to-be all her hand-me-downs along with various baby toys and other items that she could from her own two young children.

So many people in that small town had reflected on all the little things and the little ways that Betty had helped _them_ out...

Then, in the midst of the relatively conservative small town's controversy at the fact that _another_ Cooper teenager had fallen pregnant, people pushed their opinions and stereotypes aside in order to help Betty out in return, with the town of Riverdale rallying together after the initiative that Veronica, Archie and Cheryl had started.

After all, there were so many little things that Betty had done for so many different people throughout her sixteen years in Riverdale that didn't go forgotten, resulting in the town pitching in little bits here and there to assist the young mother-to-be with setting her life up for herself and her unborn baby when _she_ needed help more than ever.

#

The second knock at the door of the Joneses trailer comes just half an hour or so after Veronica left, but before Betty and Bailey have left their apartment in order to make their way over to the Sunnyside Trailer Park.

Seeing as FP is still out, Jughead is left to answer the visitor once again. And, once again, upon opening the door, Jughead is left feeling like he needs to confirm that he's not still fast asleep, mid-nightmare.

"Can I help you?" Jughead asks uncomfortably with a squint and a frown, trying to work out _why on earth_ the visitor is standing on the doorstep of his father's trailer.

"Well, you can invite me in and offer me a hot drink to begin with" Alice Cooper shoots back, walking past the barely open door that Jughead is holding open as he is left trying to piece together what is going after the momentary whirlwind of movement.

Closing the door behind him, Jughead trails over to the dining table that Alice is making herself comfortable at after inviting herself in, this time adhering to her advice.

"Can I get you a drink?"

"No thanks."

Alice's reply leaves Jughead squinting as he tries to determine what parallel universe he has stepped into, attempting to play catch-up with the unpredictability of his daughter's grandmother's as he takes the seat opposite her at the small dining table.

"Okay then... What can I do for you? I don't imagine this is a social visit."

With her hands crossed on the table in front of her neatly, Alice looks around the small trailer with disapproval before her gaze lands on him in the most terrifying manner.

"I hear that you're looking for a job."

Jughead nods slowly and hesitantly, giving a tentative response as he tries to keep up with whatever is going on.

"Yes, you've heard right."

Alice nods at Jughead's reply for a few, blood-curdling moments, watching the nervous younger man who is sitting across from her with her steely, piercing eyes focused intently on him before she speaks up.

" _The Register_ is looking at hiring another columnist. Hal and I have discussed it and we'd like to offer you the job, Jug-head."

His blue eyes that are still filled with terror look up and over to his girlfriend's mother in shock. Despite whatever reasons to explain why he thought that Alice Cooper is sitting there across from him and despite every scenario his mind had had the time to try and conjure up, _nothing_ had prepared him for hearing the truth.

"What? That's a joke, right?"

Jughead is beyond sceptical. He's looking for the 'but' in what seems far too good to be true, especially given that _The Register_ was possibly the only place in town where he _didn't_ submit his résumé, intentionally.

" _The Register_ is a family-run paper, we're looking at hiring and you are Bailey's father. I looked up some of your pieces from _The Oklahoma Press_... You're not too bad with words, Jug-head. So, we'd like to offer you a job."

Alice is dead-serious as she so explains to the father of her youngest granddaughter who is sitting across the table from her.

However, like an iceberg, just as Jughead suspects and for whatever reason it may be, but there is so much more to Alice's job offer than what meets the eye...

After all, the job offer is somewhat a means of atonement for Alice who has been left battling a guilty conscience since the day Jughead rolled up to her front door, revealing the painful truth as to _why_ he had left Riverdale all those years ago. Plus, Alice knows that Jughead's revelation came _after_ she had spent an entire meal bullying him pettily in front of Betty and their daughter, with the hope of encouraging him to leave again.

So, after a discussion of the job description, the terms, the conditions and the salary, knowing that beggars can't be choosers, Jughead accepts the job offer to do what he loves for work. Then, it's only afterwards that he realises that he has just put himself in the prime position to be bossed around by Alice Cooper every, single, day.

* * *

 **I hope you liked this chapter as a slightly fuller expansion on the one side of the story that you saw last chapter, along with the closure it brought. I hope you liked the little flashback, seeing Veronica and Alice try to make amends with Jughead and all the care of people that had been behind Betty during those years.** **This chapter (and the last) were very heavily inspired by EarthLaughsInFlowers request to see a little more of Betty and Bailey's life away from Jughead. Small towns are good at coming together in times of need, but they do not tend to forget. Plus, despite Betty's best efforts to set matters straight and as I mentioned in an earlier chapter, it would be inevitable for some people to draw their own conclusions over the timing of Jughead leaving town and the fact that he left _just_ before the news that she was pregnant spread. Like Veronica, a lot of people were coming from a good place in trying to support Betty. But since Jughead's return and seeing as most people wouldn't be aware of where Bughead are at with each other, unfortunately people caring for and standing by Betty meant that Jughead copped a lot of judgment as a result of that. However, I hope you all liked the more rounded view of and the continuation from the last chapter with Jughead finally catching a bit of a break, beginning with two of the less likely people.**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who went to the effort to leave a review on the last chapter. I am so grateful for your feedback and I'd love to know what you all think of this chapter, too.**

 **Next chapter:** **Jughead, Betty and Bailey have a family day together. Also, Jug wants himself and Betty to try and explain their relationship to their daughter. However, what discovery does Jughead make about Betty that turns his world upside down and threatens to end his relationship before it's even really begun?**


	43. Out Of Left Field

**CHAPTER FORTY THREE – Out Of Left Field**

The two young parents are tangled up on the small couch in Betty's apartment, both deeply engaged in their make-out session from where he'd pulled her onto his lap not long after their daughter had fallen asleep in her room down the hallway.

It's only as Betty stiffens upon hearing a noise from further in her home when she finally pulls back and pulls away from her boyfriend and his lips, bolting upright as she listens attentively for any noises that follow it.

As their chests rise and fall heavy while they try to steady their breaths, Betty and Jughead wait it out for a little longer than they need to, ensuring that it's just a false alarm and that there are no calls from their daughter or little footsteps that follow the initial noise.

After the near-interruption, as she returns her focus to him, Betty's face lights up with a smile. She gently strokes his cheek as her lips slowly begin to near and return to his once again as she and Jughead quickly pick up where they had left off, like two teenagers that can't keep their hands off of each other.

Then, it's his lips that leave hers this time, shifting slightly as he changes course, peppering kisses up and down her neck instead.

She hums in satisfaction until the moment is interrupted as he pulls away completely, looking at her intently. His face is filled with an expression that she can't quite read.

" _What_?"

"You know sneaking around wouldn't be a problem if we just told her..."

The look on Betty's face and her total bewilderment at the idea of sitting down together with their daughter to attempt to explain their relationship to her tells Jughead _everything_ he needs to know about her thoughts on the idea before she speaks up, addressing his suggestion a little more tactfully.

"Look, it's still early days, Jug... I don't think we should try and explain it to Bailey until we're a little further down the track and not before _we're_ sure that we're going to be able to make it work this time. You know that this isn't _just_ about us and what we want... Of course it would be nice to be more open, but we need to think about Bailey and what the best option for her is. And, right now, I think that the best thing is keeping our relationship to ourselves..."

Jughead looks at her and studies his girlfriend for a few moments before he finally gives her a silent nod. Then, with a begrudging sigh, he succumbs to her recommendation over his suggestion, though far from enthusiastically.

"No, you're probably right... It might still be a bit too early to sit down and explain it to her. I want to protect her, too... We really should be more certain before we involve Bailey."

Despite what he's saying, Betty sees the look on his face. So, she presses a hand to his chest to hold herself up as she presses her lips to his once again, hoping to break his attention away from his lingering disappointment. However, their exchange doesn't last for very long at all as she pulls away once again, with something else on her own mind.

"Hey, while I remember, are you still okay to have Bailey tomorrow?"

Last night she'd asked him if he would be able to care for their daughter the day after tomorrow. While she had been a little vague on the details, laughing off his tease that she had a hot date without him, Jughead jumped at the opportunity to look after their daughter on his own again for a short time. After all, he was determined to take every extension of trust that Betty so kindly gave him to further his relationship with their three-year-old and to make up for the time that he had lost whenever and wherever he could.

"Yeah, of course I am... I'm looking forward to it. Do you want to bring her over to my dad's or would you rather me come here?"

"Thanks Jug. I'm sorry I can't take her with me. And, um, I'll just take her over to the trailer. I'll drop her off just before eleven."

As Jughead nods in confirmation of their plans for tomorrow, upon realising that their conversation has dwindled once again, Betty's lips are quick to find his again, falling back into their familiar rhythm for nowhere near long enough before it's his turn to pull away again. He does so, with closed eyes and a little smidgen of fear over what he's about to raise and the can of worms he's about to reopen.

"Betts? I know we haven't spoken about it since, but I haven't forgotten about it... I want to know whether you've thought anymore about my offer to help you and Bailey out with the money I inherited from Doug... I know that you don't need my help but I would really, _really_ like to help you guys out."

Betty sighs unhappily, glancing away from her boyfriend with a sigh. She'd been grateful for that particular topic not being raised again _until_ her luck ran out.

"I'm not a charity case, Jughead... Bailey and I are making do."

Taking her hands into his with a squeeze of reassurance, Jughead gazes at her with a warm smile, acknowledging what she's telling him.

"I _know_ that you're not a charity case... You are the strongest person I know and I am so incredibly amazed by your strength and everything that you have done for our daughter, Betty."

Jughead's compliment and his kind words bring a little smile to Betty's lips as her cheeks flush with a little colour. However, he distracts her once again as he continues speaking.

"I want to help you, Betty... After all, and for if nothing else, I have the responsibility of helping you with Bailey because she is _our_ daughter. However, _you_ have spent the entirety of her life covering the costs for her. I want to compensate you for at least some of that and I want to make your life a little easier from here on. You have been through hell and back, Betts, and I respect the strength it would have taken to do that."

After Jughead's reiterates his firm resolve to assist her financially in raising their daughter and his determination to take the mounting pressure off her even just a little, Betty sits there in silence, looking off distantly from where she is still sitting squarely atop his lap.

For the longest time she sits there thinking, pondering and considering his offer before she finally speaks up with an answer and a sigh.

"Fifty percent... I will let you cover no more than fifty percent of the cost of raising her so far and from here on out. Anymore than that would be _paying me_ for raising Bailey and I'm not okay with that. I'll set a third of it aside for Bailey and then I'll keep the remainder. Trust me, Jug, coming into that amount of money alone will be enough to alleviate a bit of pressure for me like I know that you want to."

A smile fills Jughead's face. He's delighted to be able to help her whatsoever. So, his smile intact, he presses his lips to hers gratefully before pulling away as he takes her face into his hands, stroking her cheeks gently and delicately, filled with love for the woman on his lap.

"Thank you, Betty. Even this is still nowhere near enough, but I'll appreciate being able to help you out just a little bit..."

#

Once Bailey woke up from her nap and after Betty prepared a small picnic lunch to take with them, she and Jughead took their three-year-old to the park around the corner from Betty's apartment.

The little girl giggled almost the entire way to the playground, holding either parents hand as she walked between them. The little girl skips along just about the entire way, aside from the moments when she'd be flung up in the air with a "one... two... three...", as Betty and Jughead hold either one of her hands tightly. The two parents then pull her off the ground and into the air momentarily before placing her back down between them as she lands with an eruption of giggles, their hands still holding onto each other's tightly.

Arriving at the playground, Bailey bolts straight for the swing, asking Jughead to push her as her mother stands to the side of the equipment standing there, smiling to herself and sneaking in a few photos of the adorable father and daughter as Bailey grins and giggles throughout the entire time, asking to be pushed higher and higher as the infectious delight results in the smile on Jughead's own face.

Then, after the swings, Bailey's interest moves onto the slide which Betty joins her own, holding her daughter tightly on her lap as they slide down the long yellow side, met by Jughead's hands at the end. Sliding down the slide excites her three-year-old for about three slides before she moves onto the see-saw.

Originally, the three-year-old asked her mother to join her on the other side, flinging her up in the air with a giggle as Betty bounces them both up and down on the equipment. Then, Bailey declares that its Jughead's turn now, bursting out with even more laughter as the see-saw flings her up just like it had with her mother.

Like Betty, Jughead bounces the two of them up and down over and over for a few minutes before the decisive three-year-old informs her parents that it's their turn now.

Taking a seat on either side of the see-saw, Jughead and Betty grin across from each other as their daughter stands to the side of the play equipment, directing her parents to bounce up and down.

Listening to Bailey's instruction, Jughead begins to spring the two of them up and down on the equipment, eliciting a smile from the woman on the other side of the see-saw as he chuckles to himself.

"I don't think we've done this together since were six, Betts..."

As Betty laughs at Jughead's remark from the other side of the see-saw, he just grins back at her.

Meanwhile, seeing her parent's amusement as they laugh and smile along to each other, Bailey too joins in as she bursts out laughing, despite not having heard _or_ understood what her parents are saying.

At this, Jughead and Betty's heads turn to their daughter, watching her crack up in the loudest, most exaggerated fits of laughter that are so obviously put on, only furthering their own amusement as they witness their three-year-olds fake laughter just to join in with them.

#

After half an hour of bounding from one piece of equipment, to another and then back again, Bailey finally seems to crash, flopping down on the picnic rug that Betty had laid out, before spreading out little containers of fresh fruit, chopped veggie sticks, squares of cheese and some savoury crackers that Jughead has already made a start on.

The two of them have been watching their daughter, watching her play and keeping an eye on her from just metres away as she plays with some of the activities that had been incorporated into the play equipment, while Betty and Jughead just sit on the picnic rug talking together.

Then it is just as Betty notes her daughter beginning to race over to the two of them when she recalls a conversation from the night before, hoping to try and recreate it rather than explain it to the father of her child.

"Jug, ask Bailey what her middle name is."

Jughead shoots Betty a quick look of confusion. After all, he _knows_ that his daughter's middle name is Juliet. However, as their three-year-old comes racing over to join them, Jughead leaves it at that, not asking Betty why she's said that and suggested for him to ask Bailey herself that question.

Then, after Bailey finishes telling them about the binoculars which are built into the play equipment that she's just been looking through when Jughead follows Betty's suggestion.

"Hey, Bailey? What's your middle name, sweetie?"

After a few moments of silence, Jughead looks from Betty to Bailey and then back again. He notes the way that his three-year-old ponders the question for a short while, before seeming to look to Betty for a clue or some help, before speaking up with an uncertain answer.

"Um... Elsa?"

With the little girl looking to her mother, as if seeking a right or wrong answer, Betty shakes her head at her daughter with a kind smile.

"No, baby. That's not it... Are you sure you can't remember what your middle name is? You know your name is Bailey Jones, but can you remember what name we sometimes write in between that?"

The three-year-old looks at her mother blankly with absolutely no recollection of her middle name that her parents are trying to pry out of her.

Then, with a sudden surge of confidence and conviction Bailey quickly exclaims "Olaf!" before abruptly getting up and racing back over to the play equipment to try and evade the question that she doesn't know the answer to.

Leaving her parents chuckling together, Betty glances to Jughead to explain the little exchange that had begun with her suggesting for him to quiz their daughter.

"I was reminded of it again last night, but Bailey can't seem to remember her middle name yet. Normally, whenever she gets asked about it, she just picks the first name that she can think of. It's usually one of the last people she spoke to or it's from the last book she read or the last movie she saw. Like, normally, she'll say something like 'Simba' or 'Moana.' A couple of times it's been 'Grandpa' or 'Uncle Archie'. Either way, no matter how many times I've told her, she just can't seem to remember it..."

Jughead grins at Betty's explanation, glancing over to the little blonde girl who is braving the slide on her own this time.

"Oh, that kid..." Jughead chuckles, shaking his head to himself as he looks over to his little girl with so much love and adoration pulsing through him.

He is just besotted with the little girl. And, despite only knowing of her existence for a few short months, Jughead can no longer imagine his life without. Every single little thing she says or does leaves him doting on her, filled with so much pride.

Noting his attention being poured out on their daughter lovingly, Betty can't help the smile on her face as she nips on the corner of her lip. Then, with the topic on her mind, Betty puts another little question to him regarding their daughter's middle name.

"Jug? Do you know where I got her middle name from?"

Jughead gives Betty a small, shy smile, flinching away as a sign of insecurity before he speaks up.

"I have had a theory but I might be way, _way_ off... All those years ago, didn't I tell you something along the lines of 'Hey there, Juliet'? Wasn't that the day we had our first kiss?"

Betty's lips purse together, hiding her smile of delight.

Despite the stress of her sisters disappearance and Jason's murder, that moment, their first kiss had been such a beacon of light for her and she had relieved that moment more times than she could count. However, she had never really known whether his comment had just been a romantic titbit from a milestone that only hopelessly romantic girls cling onto.

"You remembered..." she says, trailing off as her smile brightens.

" _Of course_ I remember... Do you have any idea how long I spent outside your house, and while I was climbing up that damn ladder trying to think of the right thing to say to you that day? I wasn't born suave, you know..."

Instantly, Betty bursts out laughing at hearing the different side to her memory after all these years.

Like she has been learning over the time that she has spent with Jughead since his return, but maybe, just _maybe,_ sometimes, history _can_ be repeated...

#

Arriving home from the park that night, Jughead offers to make a start on their dinner of baked potatoes that Betty had planned for the three of them, as she supervises Bailey's bath.

Though the three-year-old is quite competent splashing around and washing herself on her own, supervising Bailey for the entire time is still a non-negotiable to Betty for the sake of safety. However, staying around also helped her to ensure that Bailey's blonde locks had been thoroughly rinsed out and that they are free from traces of shampoo or conditioner.

From where he's standing there in Betty's kitchen, scrubbing clean the outsides of the potatoes over the sink, Jughead is grinning to himself stupidly at just how domestic the three of them have become so quickly, falling into routines with each other with such ease. After all, a part of him can't believe he's finding himself not only _involved_ in Betty -and now Bailey's- life, but also that he's so thoroughly immersed in their life.

However, Jughead is interrupted from his own gushy thoughts by a bellow coming from a familiar voice a few rooms away.

"Hey, Jug? Are you hands free? Can you bring me Bailey's water bottle for her?"

At Betty's request, Jughead immediately sets the potatoes down on the chopping board, quickly finding Bailey's bag on the other side of the room where his daughter's water bottle is kept most of the time and especially seeing as they'd not long arrived home from the park when they had taken it.

However, after a few moments of riffling through Bailey's backpack without success, coming across the same items over and over again, Jughead calls out in return.

"I just checked her backpack. I can't see it."

Jughead's reply is met with silence for a few moments before an uncertain answer follows an elongated 'umm'.

"It might be in my handbag then?"

With the two girl's bags placed side-by-side at the front door of the small apartment, Jughead immediately begins to look through his girlfriend's handbag until there's a gasp and a jolt of realisation a few rooms away.

"Oh, actually, I just remembered that I put it in the sink to wash it when we got home."

However, despite Betty's quick correction and the change in her answer after what she'd initially said just moments before that, it's too late...

After all, Jughead had _already_ started to rifle through her handbag, moving things and shifting her purse to reveal the item that had been very intentionally concealed and buried a little deeper into her bag...

It's too late because Jughead has already seen the pregnancy test shoved further down into his girlfriend's bag.

It could be milliseconds or it could be months that Jughead spends standing there, crouched down in front of the two bags; he's lost all sense of time. However, what he does know is that he gawks at the item, his blue eyes blink furiously to ensure that he's seeing correctly before he shoves Betty's purse back into her handbag to conceal the box, as if it was as easy as covering it over to forget about it. But, _no_ , there's no going back now...

By some miracle, Jughead remembers the task at hand, making sure that Betty's handbag looks the way that he had come across it before he walks back over to the sink. He grabs his daughter's pink water bottle that is draining and drying out on the dish rack, refilling it with water. He carries the bottle through the small apartment, handing it to Betty in the bathroom without stopping to so much as glance in her direction. After all, he's unsure whether he can look her in the eye, before feebly telling her that he had left the water at the kitchen sink running as an excuse to race off just as quickly.

Then, it's only after he returns to his place at the kitchen bench, when the impact of his discovery sinks in. It's where just minutes earlier he'd been scrubbing potatoes and grinning to himself, blissfully unaware and completely oblivious as to what was _just_ around the corner...

It's then and there at the same place at the kitchen bench when he feels the blow.

He feels like his entire body is fighting against him in that moment. He feels the sudden weight in his stomach as it drops from within him. He feels the ache in his heart as it sinks. He feels the increasing difficulty to breathe, struggling to take in air and to fill his lungs.

However, a few moments after the shock of his discovery begins to sink in, Jughead tries to combat it and debunk the obvious idea, desperately seeking an alternative.

He tries to tell himself that it might not even be hers, that there might be some simple explanation, or that it's not what he thinks it is.

However, it's pointless. Deep down, he knows better.

Deep down, he remembers the fact that just days ago, Betty had spent all night refusing Veronica's offers of her signature sangria and he remembers how the week before that, Bailey had mentioned in passing that her mother was sick during the routine day that she spent with FP once a fortnight.

The two indicators paired together with the fact that just a little earlier in the day she'd checked that he was still able to look after their daughter seeing as she had other plans seemed like more than enough proof... Could she have a doctor's appointment set for tomorrow? Maybe she's meeting up with Casey...

Add to that her earlier hesitation to commit to the idea of telling their daughter about their relationship... After all, Betty wouldn't want to tell Bailey about them if she had some reason to believe that their relationship could possibly be set to change or, _hell_ , be set to end...

All in all, it sends Jughead's thoughts spiraling.

Either way, it is all conducive to the fact that Betty must be pregnant or, at the very least, she must believe that she could be.

Like the world is painfully moving in slow motion, Jughead feels his heart break, shattering completely at the very fact that had first made his stomach plummet sickeningly from within him.

After all, unlike her firstborn, Jughead knows for a certainty that it's impossible for Betty's unborn baby to be _his_.

* * *

 **I do not blame you guys if you're feeling like Jughead right about now!** **What started off pretty light and fluffy took quite the turn... Is Betty pregnant and is Bailey set to be a big sister? What impact would a Betty & Casey baby have on Bughead? ****All I'll say is wait out for the next chapter and trust me... ;)**

 **Thank you so much to violet1429, PerfectlySquare3826, Marie King and the Guest for leaving a review on the last chapter. I'm so grateful for your support. I'd love to know what you all thought!**

 **Next chapter: Jughead confronts Betty after discovering the pregnancy test. Then, we flashback to Betty learning that she was pregnant with Bailey.**


	44. Positive

**CHAPTER FORTY FOUR – Positive**

After unintentionally stumbling across the pregnancy test in his girlfriend's handbag, Jughead spent the remainder of the time with Betty and Bailey concealing his fears while simultaneously agonising over his new knowledge before leaving far earlier in the night than he usually does.

Arriving home to his father's trailer, Jughead walked straight in and headed straight for bed, just telling his father that he's exhausted; not a lie. He knew that if he stayed up and moped around the trailer, FP would be able to tell that there was something up with him and while the mounting weight of keeping his fears to himself was beginning to crush him in the process, the only thing that he felt would be harder than stewing over his turmoil is _verbalising_ what is not even his secret to share.

Jughead spent that night tossing and turning and though he was mentally exhausted, he felt so far from tired. Rather, he spent the entire night being confused by the haunting image of the simple box that he had stumbled across, the box that has left him agonising over whether or not his daughter is set to become a big sister, and whether his girlfriend may be becoming a mother again.

The following morning, when Betty brings their daughter over to his trailer seeing as he had agreed to look after Bailey while Betty had to do whatever she had to do and to visit whoever she needed to see, Jughead finds it hard to even look her in the eye; he barely can.

Watching Bailey rush inside to her grandfather after hugging Jughead hello first, Betty pulls him outside to bring him to the other side of the trailer's front door for a proper greeting, away from their three-year-olds eyes.

As she springs up to press a kiss to his lips, he shifts away at the last moment, leaving her lips to fall to his cheek instead.

The strange action is noted by Betty who can tell it is anything but a simple coincidence as a frown sets on her face.

However, unlike Betty, Jughead can't just pretend that he doesn't know what he does and unlike Betty he can't ignore the impact that her secret will undoubtedly have on them and their recently rekindled relationship.

Besides, the entire time since she has arrived at his father's trailer to leave Bailey with him, it has been torturing Jughead as to where she will be going and who she will be seeing after she leaves that trailer...

Will she be making a trip to her doctor to have tests, take scans and leave the clinic bearing a small ultrasound picture and a due date for the second time in her life? Or, will she paying a visit to her ex-boyfriend? Will she be informing Casey of soon-to-be fatherhood?

Casey...

 _Casey_.

Jughead's chest tightens at the thought of the other man, his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend and the only person who could be the father of Betty's unborn child.

Sure, _he_ is Bailey's dad. But, Casey would be this baby's dad. And, unlike Jughead himself, he has a feeling that Casey will be there for all of it. In fact, he's almost _certain_ that Casey would want to be there for the whole thing, that he'd want to be right there by Betty's side through _everything._ Everything that Jughead missed out on and everything that Jughead fears will only unite the former couple...

After all, the very same thing and their mutual love for the child they share had contributed to the two of them reuniting not all that long ago. The closeness of sharing a child had been a contributing factor to drawing _them_ back together. And, now, Betty may be set to face the very same thing with another man...

Jughead can't take it anymore. It's not fair to her and it's not fair to him.

After torturing himself over the unanswered question since the previous night, Jughead can't bear it any longer, needing to confront his girlfriend about what has left him feeling cold and icy towards her, forming what is the very tip of a very large iceberg.

"When were you planning to tell me that you're pregnant? Or at least that you think you might be?"

Betty's green eyes fly up to look at Jughead, wide with shock and bewilderment.

"You saw the test..."

"Yeah, I saw it when I was looking for Bailey's water bottle last night and you told me to check both your bags. By the time you remembered and said that it wasn't in your bag, it was too late. I'd already seen it."

Betty exhales a heavy sigh, squeezing Jughead's forearm in what is intended to be a brief moment of comfort and consolation for him before she leaves his side, quickly poking her head back into the trailer that they had just walked out of.

"FP? Do you mind keeping an eye on Bailey for a few minutes? Jug and I are going to go for a quick walk just before I have to leave."

The doting grandfather replies almost instantly from further in the small trailer and Betty can just about _hear_ the smile on his face.

"Be my guest..."

Betty bellows out a quick "thank you", hearing a " _bye mummy!_ " just moments before she shuts the door behind her once again.

As Betty leaves the trailer once again, she is quick to notice that Jughead has shifted from where they were standing originally. He is now down the stairs, standing uncomfortably in front of his father's trailer. She follows him, rejoining Jughead by his side as she reaches out to take his hand into hers. After all, even though she senses the large divide between them because of the question that he had raised to her moments ago, Betty can also tell that he needs her comfort right then and there.

So, the two of them begin walking through the trailer park together, hand-in-hand, united, despite what is bubbling beneath the surface.

Then, with a sigh, Betty squeezes her boyfriend's hand from within hers as she addresses his fears that are consuming him, eating him whole.

"I'm _not_ pregnant, Jughead. I never needed the test."

Jughead blanks at the feeling of all of his fears falling away, melting away to nothing. For a moment there, he's finding it harder to process the fact that she's _not_ pregnant after all that he had trying to come terms with the fact that she could very well be.

It just feels too impossibly good to be true...

After all, he had himself just about _convinced_ that his girlfriend was carrying her ex's baby. It all made sense after her abstinence of alcohol during a night with their friends, the fact that their daughter had mentioned that she had been sick in bed recently and the biggest giveaway of the all when he discovered a home pregnancy test in her possesion yesterday.

"But Bailey said you weren't feeling well a couple of weeks ago... And what about the sangria? You didn't touch a _drop_ of Veronica's sangria at the barbecue the other night...

"Was that the Friday when you and your dad had her? In that case, I was unwell for the very same reason that I know for a fact I'm not pregnant. Because, it's much easier to tell a three-year-old that her mummy has a sore tummy than it is trying to explain that she's having a hellish period. As for the sangria, _you_ clearly didn't have any of it the other night either... That stuff is potent, Jug. I've been burnt by Veronica's sangria before and I knew that I had to drive us home later that night. Even if I started with a small glass of it, she'd just keep refilling it. It was just easier to not have it at all."

Jughead nods slowly, trying to process what she's telling him and undo his conviction from even just minutes earlier when he was so sure that she was pregnant with indicators that he couldn't see a way to be misconstrued.

But, it makes sense. Her not feeling well, her not touching the sangria out of concern for her blood-alcohol level... However, there is one detail that doesn't quite fit and he can't quite see a way to explain given the new information.

"So, why the hell do you have a pregnancy test in your bag?"

Betty bites her lip. She appears a little nervous or at least uncomfortable as her gaze momentarily flies down to the ground before it returns to him.

"That's why I'm going out today and why I asked you to look after Bailey... I'm taking the test to the person I bought it for."

He continues to nod slowly as he analyses what she's telling him. If Jughead was even just a little less shell-shocked, through a very straight-forward process of elimination, he'd be able to work out who the test was intended for all along quite easily. Honestly, he doesn't really care _who_ the test is for, so long as it's not for her. Besides, he's still grappling with what she's telling him as he tries to wrap his head around the fact that his fears were all for nothing and that she is not pregnant, carrying her exes baby, as he had feared.

Sensing this, Betty squeezes their hands that are holding each others.

"I'm really sorry for how it must have felt to think what you did after seeing that."

Then, with her free hand, she reaches up and touches his face, stroking his cheek ever so gently from within her hand before she presses a soft, loving kiss to his lips to try and alleviate the remaining stress and concerns that had built up within Jughead since he made the discovery in her handbag just the day before.

"Besides, call me old fashioned, but a part of me has always been very fond of the idea of my babies having the same father. I mean, that's if it ever worked out that way sometime down the track and so long as that was something that Bailey's father was in agreement with..."

Jughead pauses and stops in his tracks from Betty's backwards way of asking him the question of whether he'd be open to extending their family. Even just six months ago, children were so far from Jughead's radar. They were five, ten years off, if ever. However, in that time, he has not only learnt that he is the father to a beautiful, little three-year-old, but here he is weighing up the idea of having _another_ child in the future.

"Funny you say that. I was actually having a word to Bailey's dad recently and he seemed pretty keen on that idea... _One day._ A kid should have a partner in crime, after all."

#

After leaving Jughead with their daughter, Betty heads straight for her destination; her two best friend's home directly beside her own childhood home.

Seconds after Betty knocks at the door, she is tugged inside without a word so that she's not left standing on the doorstep.

Betty can already see the visible fear and trepidation consuming one of her best friend's in the way that she remembers well from her own personal experience.

"Have you got it?" Veronica asks, skimming straight over all the greetings and small talk, cutting straight to the chase.

After all, Veronica's own fears are just about consuming _her_ alive, especially seeing as they've had a day to build up and multiply.

At first she'd put it down to food poisoning after it had been Archie's night to cook. But, her symptoms continued without letup the following two mornings, so Hermione had spent the day with her daughter, caring for her like she was still just a little girl, not the married woman that she is.

It had been that third morning, the day when her mother came to care for her, when Veronica realised the possibility that her symptoms were not simply food poisoning from Archie's cooking as she told him, nor that she had she caught the violent gastro bug that had been circling the town menacingly as she had told her mother.

Then, the first thing yesterday morning, Veronica had gotten up from her rendezvous with the toilet bowl for the third day in a row to give Betty a desperate call, revealing the same fears that Betty had shared with Veronica herself four-and-a-half years ago. She hadn't asked her husband to pick up the test; she needed to know the answer the test would give her and come to terms with that for _herself_ first. She hadn't asked her mother either, knowing that she'd be too enthusiastic about the idea of being an Abuelita to support Veronica's mixed emotions. So, she turned to Betty, just like Betty had turned to _her_.

After all, following almost a month of keeping herself locked up and cooped up in her bedroom after her heartbreak of Jughead leaving her after spending a week failing to find any trace of him after his disappearance all those years ago, Veronica had been the very first person that Betty opened her door to, immediately sharing her fears that had been developing in her mind over the previous few days.

As Betty hands pulls the small box from her handbag and hands it over to her best friend, holding comfort food ready-and-waiting in her other hand, she watches Veronica with concern, seeing the fear and the distress on her face.

"Have you mentioned anything to Archie?"

Looking much paler than her usual tanned complexion, Veronica's expression is grim as she shakes her head with evident fear.

"No. No, I have _not_ mentioned anything to my man-baby husband about the fact that he might have to ousted from his throne."

Then, Veronica just takes the test from Betty's hand before turning around and beginning to head straight for the bathroom, when her attention is caught before she has walked too far towards the bathroom down the hallway.

"V?"

As Veronica stops and slows down, it enables Betty to take a few short steps to close the gap between them as she envelopes her in a tight and reassuring hug. It was just the same as Veronica had done for her all those years ago, murmuring the same words into the raven-haired girl's hair.

"Everything's going to be okay..."

Then, as her best friend bears the box that she's carried around with her since buying it at the pharmacy the previous morning, Betty remembers back to the unforgettable anxiety of experiencing the very same thing, facing your future thanks to a piece of plastic, or three...

#

 **Four and a half years ago...**

 _After Jughead had left town, leaving his life and his heartbroken girlfriend behind, Betty had spent a week trying anything and everything she could to track him down._

 _Then, one week on she had come to the devastating realisation that he didn't_ _ **want**_ _to be found... He hadn't left to be found. So, she had given up and she caved in, not_ _ **only**_ _to searching._

 _Betty had spent the following month buried away in her bedroom, ignoring the outside world and her friends and family on the other side of the door after the case of a severe broken heart as she struggled with the question of 'why?'_

 _Why didn't he bother to say goodbye? Why didn't he face up to it and break up with her properly? Why didn't he seem to love her anymore? Why, all of a sudden, after they had each gave the other everything just the week before, why had he left without a trace?_

 _Now, four weeks on from his departure and five and a half weeks after his birthday party, Betty is sitting curled up in Veronica's arms on the floor of the Lodges lavish bathroom._

 _Roughly a minute ago the timer had gone off, alerting the two girls to the fact that Betty's future is ready and waiting for her to discover. However, she hasn't moved a muscle, shaking her head into Veronica's shoulder._

" _I can't do it, V. I can't look at it."_

 _Veronica doesn't say a word, not quite knowing what the right thing to say is as she just brushes a consoling hand through Betty's unusually dishevelled blonde hair._

 _The girls sit like this for just a few moments longer until Veronica finally finds a word to say, convinced that she'll be able to be both reassuring and comforting to her best friend who needs both of those things more than ever before._

" _Whatever that test says, we can handle it. Whatever it says, I'm right here for you, B... We all are. Whatever that test says, everything is going to be okay..."_

 _Betty's tear-filled and reddened eyes glance over to Veronica for a moment, nodding in acknowledgement of what she's saying and the reassurance that she's trying to give the struggling young girl in that moment._

 _After a few moments, Veronica's words seem to be enough to be the push of confidence that Betty needs to takes the leap of faith. So, with a deep breath she turns over the small piece of plastic that delivers her fate._

 _Holding her distraught best friend in her arms, Veronica doesn't need to_ _ **see**_ _the result to know exactly what it is..._

 _Immediately, Betty releases an involuntary gasp, instantly bursting into fresh tears as her body is wracked with sobs through her distress._

 _Her world is caving in on her. She is faced with a terrifying predicament and every sixteen-year-olds worst nightmare. Yet, despite everything, deep down there is only_ _ **one**_ _outcome that Betty Cooper's heart would allow her, rather than the usual three._

" _A baby..." Betty sobs as her chest rapidly rises and falls through short, superficial breaths. "Oh God, I'm having a baby..."_

 _Veronica holds her best friend's body tight and close into her own, rubbing her back over and over comfortingly as Betty cries into her, overcome with fresh tears right as the last round is seeming to subside._

 _They sit like this, in silence, for the longest time as Betty tries to find her way to the surface after being completely submerged by the test result that she had been hoping not to have to face as Veronica holds her and comforts her, whispering reassurances and holding her close._

 _Then, when Betty seems to gain control over her breathing for the most part, she is just left with silent tears that continue to stream down her moist cheeks involuntarily._

" _Oh, Veronica... Where is he? I just need to know if he's coming back... I just need him..._ _ **We**_ _need him."_

 _Stroking her hand up and down Betty's back, Veronica whispers to her best friend with a little humour that she's hoping will be just what Betty needs, seeing as she doesn't have the answer to her question; the answers that Betty is so desperate for, now more than ever._

" _I'm sure he's just been going to beanie-lovers anonymous meetings or he just found out about some burger convention on the other side of the world, B. I'm sure he'll be back..."_

 _There's no smile on her face, but Veronica's joke does leave the very faintest trace of light on the darkness cast across Betty's face. However, that brief flicker of light through the dark doesn't last long before disappearing altogether, followed by even more fear as she confesses to her worry that has been plaguing her for the past month._

" _I'm really scared about him, Veronica. I don't think he's okay."_

 _Veronica exhales a sigh, squeezing her friend in her arms. Once again, she doesn't know what to say, knowing that she can't tell Betty what she's wanting to hear. So, she just holds her close and tight comfortingly, shifting the focus away from Jughead a little and back onto Betty._

" _You are going to be fine, B... Everything is going to be absolutely fine, I promise you that."_

 _Despite Veronica's reassuring words, Betty's tears and heaving chest seems to be worsening again as she thinks about Jughead and more so, his absence._

" _But I can't do this without him... I can't be a single mother."_

" _You don't_ _ **have to**_ _do this, Betty. You have choices..."_

 _There's an instantaneous resolve and Veronica can already see the determination that would go on to propel her through the most part of the next four-and-a-half-years of pain and difficulty, fighting against the odds._

" _No, I am doing this... I'm raising my baby. It's just a question of whether it's with or without him."_

#

Four and a half years later, Veronica finds herself looking down at a piece of plastic bearing the very same result as her best friend's had. However, the result is where the similarities end.

Veronica isn't a high schooler; she's a successful businesswoman with her own online company. She doesn't have a boyfriend who left her a month ago without a word and without a trace; she has a loving and supportive husband. And, while there had been no shortage of tears for Betty, there's not a tear in sight with Veronica.

Instead, she sits there, frozen to the spot, blank and numb.

"Are you okay?" Betty asks gently, extending a hand out to touch Veronica's shoulder.

Betty is struck by the contrast between her and her best friend's varied reactions in dealing with the very same thing, four years apart. After all, she had instantly been struck by uncontrollable waterworks as not a single tear leaves Veronica's eyes. And, while being held close and tight had been exactly what _she_ had needed, Veronica shrugs off her friend's touch.

Veronica shakes her head as she finally responds to Betty's question, looking up to her with her dark brown eyes filled with fear.

"No... No, I'm not okay. I'm not ready for this. Oh, I feel sick..."

Betty shoots Veronica a sympathetic look, refraining from touching her like she's naturally drawn to want to do in her attempts to try and comfort her, having noted that that hadn't seemed to be what her friend needed the last time she tried to comfort her physically.

So, instead, Betty speaks up with comforting words of reassurance that she can only hope are what Veronica needs.

"You'll be fine, V... You're married. You and Archie both have stable work. Plus, not to mention that you _have_ Archie... He's going to be absolutely _thrilled_. I know how scary it is right now, but the two of you will be absolutely incredible parents. Trust me; I know what I'm talking about."

Betty is smiling at her friend now, sharing her reassurances just a little joyously. After all, the young mother is envisioning her own daughter having a little friend to play with and she's thrilled by the idea of her two best friend's joining the parent-club, sharing all the joys and the horrors that come along with parenting.

However, when Veronica speaks up again, Betty realises that apparently their reactions aren't where the two girl's differences end as the raven-haired-girl looks to the young mother, fear and terror in her eyes.

"Betty? I'm not like you... I know I want to be a mother, but I don't know if I'm ready to do this yet. I don't feel anywhere near as strong as you."

* * *

 **Now, I have a few things I'd like to say.**

 **Firstly, I have thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed writing this story. Secondly, I am so immensely grateful for my loyal readers and reviewers. I truly do care about your feedback and I absolutely take it on board. Thank you to the the people that expressed their disliking of the way the last chapter in a tactful, respectful way. Constructive criticism and tactful feedback on my story/plots/writing, etc is always welcome. But, reviewers that pop up out of the woodwork ONLY to leave hate on one chapter? You should have stuck to saying nothing at all.**

 **Yes, it's been a long story, but I have continued to write it because I have been enjoying it. However, word-count-wise it's really not all that much longer than many other stories. I do tend to have perhaps shorter chapters than those stories for the sake of more regular updates seeing as proofreading long reviews overwhelms me. Had the pace been complication-free, the last twenty two chapters would have been reduced to nothing but plot-less fluff or Betty and Jughead having their twenty-second child. Honestly people, even fairytales have their complications. It's called a _story_.**

 **Anyway, I've posted this chapter about a week sooner than planned to show where this story was going. However, while the next few chapters have been written, too, I've posted this chapter about a week sooner than intended because I've decided that I'm taking a break. I posted this chapter sooner because I (hope) to leave on a nicer note than the last chapter. Honestly, I spend so much of my free, personal time writing and the rest of it proofreading so that I can update frequently. Often I stay up writing/proofreading/replying to comments until three AM in order to keep updates regular. So, after the outright nastiness from the last chapter, I cannot sustain that.**

 **Writing is an outlet for me. It's a creative outlet and it's one of the paramount ways that I unwind, especially after a great deal of personal stress I've had so far this year. However, after the rudeness from the last chapters, I'm taking a break from posting. I don't know whether I'm going to continue writing my stories in that time.** **Thank you for attacking my creative outlet that I feel great joy from.**

 **I'm really sorry to the kind and loyal readers who have to suffer as the result of other people's nastiness.**

 **Next chapter: Jug, Betty and Bailey have a baking day. Then, Betty finds a way to further Jughead's involvement in Bailey's life and her own, trying to help him avoid him ever feeling as lonely as he did when he left all those years ago.**


	45. Blossoming, Baking & Belonging

**CHAPTER FORTY FIVE – Blossoming, Baking & Belonging**

After the last few days and despite the little hiccup of Jughead believing that Betty was pregnant, the two of them have continued to progress as their relationship has flourished.

Despite starting his job at _The Riverdale Register_ , Jughead spends almost every minute of his free time with the mother-daughter duo. After work he heads straight for Betty's, staying there until late at night, while on his days off he comes over for breakfast, spending the majority of the day with Betty and Bailey until his daughter's bedtime, then only returning home after spending some downtime with Betty. The days that Betty has to work, Jughead looks after Bailey while the Friday's that Bailey spends with either her grandfather or her mother's parents, the two of them would spend the day together if they both had the day off.

Basically, Jughead had barely been torn away from Betty and Bailey's side as he spent time with the two of them as a little family unit, or, with just his girlfriend as the two of them worked on building up and stabilising their new relationship. All in all, their efforts in both areas were paying off extremely well. They were just about _inseparable_.

#

That morning, when Jughead had come over to join the girl's for a breakfast of fresh fruit salad, Bailey had been asking her parents about what they were going to be doing today. The typically easy-going three-year-old has become a little bored of her usual toys and hasn't been interested in sitting through an entire movie lately.

Bailey's been like this a lot the last few days. She's ended up playing children's board games with Betty and Jughead a number of times recently and she enjoyed their trip to the library yesterday where she picked a few longer books for her parents to read to her rather than her usual children's picture books.

Betty suspects that the fact that Bailey has been growing a little more bored than usual lately is a sign that Bailey is looking for more stimulation. It's a bittersweet reminder that her daughter is getting older, that she's growing closer and closer to four years of age and it seems that she's ready for the looming adjustment of preschool and kindergarten.

So, when Bailey asks what they're doing today, Betty has an idea lined up that she's hoping will engage her little girl more than playing with dolls will.

"How about we have a baking day, Bailey?" Betty offers, answering her daughters question with another question that she proceeds to elaborate on. "We can make some peanut butter cookies and chocolate brownies. Daddy can help us, too, if he wants..."

As Betty glances to Jughead who just gives her an eager grin to accompany his nod of response, the young mother's attention is quickly stolen away by her daughter, tuning in to Bailey's answer over her suggestion.

"Oh yes, mummy! Please, please, _please_ can we do it?! Daddy too!"

Betty chuckles at her three-year-olds instantaneous enthusiasm as Jughead confirms that he'll bake with them, too, only spreading even more delight across her face.

However, as Betty continues speaking, elaborating on her initial suggestion, her additional ideas are met by a far more mixed response.

"Then, after we make the cookies and brownies, we can keep some for _us_ to have and then we can give some as gifts. Maybe we can give some to Grandpa and then take some over to Nanna and Grandad?"

While Bailey nods in delight at her mother's suggestion, Betty can see Jughead's face drop, to which she just gently swats his shoulder. She silently tries her best to warn him to set a good example for their daughter in the look she gives him.

Then, finding a way to get back at him, Betty shoots Jughead a devilish smirk as she speaks to Bailey.

"You know what, Bailey? I think that _daddy_ wants to be the one to give Nanna and Grandad their cookies and brownies..."

#

After breakfast, Betty ties Bailey's long, golden locks up into a bun before tying her own into a messier version of her signature ponytail. Then, the family of three wash their hands and set to work.

As Jughead and Bailey hunt around Betty's kitchen cupboards in a painfully slow 'I Spy' manner of trying to find each ingredient and utensil needed for making the recipes that Betty has opened up to in her cookbook, she does a few of the less interesting tasks like preheating the oven and lining the baking trays.

With Jughead in charge of the brownies and Betty managing the peanut butter cookie mixture, Bailey flits between helping each of her parents, depending on which task looks more enjoyable at the time and if one of her parents catches her attention, seeking her assistance.

Meanwhile, the two adults have an ongoing little bit of rivalry, with the flirtatiousness of their bickering and competitiveness as they bake flying right over their three year olds head who just finds it funny that her mummy and daddy are 'silly fighting'.

As the three of them sift flour, tip chocolate chips, pour vanilla essence, stir bowls and scoop balls of cookie dough, there's a chorus of noises from the utensils they're using, their conversation and the noise of an ongoing stream of giggles and laughter as the family of three banter together while they cook...

" _Bay! Quick! Try this! Isn't it_ _ **so**_ _much better than mummies?"_

" _Stop eating all the dough! Between the two of you, we're not going to have any cookies left to cook!"_

" _I fink we still need more and more and more chocolate!"_

" _Betts, try this. Just be prepared to have to bow at the foot of the master..."_

 _"Jug! Not in front of little eyes!"_

" _I fink this is my best favourite day..."_

Then, finally, after far more time than it should have taken, they have two baking paper-lined trays covered in twelve various sized slightly flattened balls of uncooked peanut butter cookie mixture and another deeper baking pan filled with the chocolate brownie batter. Jughead is just about to put the trays in the oven as Betty begins cleaning up the mess that has been scattered throughout almost the entirety of her little kitchen.

Then, as Betty puts the dirty dishes in the sink to wash them before cleaning off the bench tops, she releases a little gasp of exclamation.

"Oh dear... There are only two wooden spoons to lick and there are three of us."

From where she was sitting on the stool on the other side of the island bench and away from the hot oven to allow Betty to clear up the kitchen, Bailey looks over to her mother, studying the situation before she speaks up decisively on the matter.

"Mummy and daddy can eat the spoons."

While the situation had never been _that_ serious, with Betty knowing that she'd forfeit her right to a spoon for her daughter and her boyfriend, Betty is filled with pride over the generosity of her daughter's offer. She is so proud of Bailey and her willingness to share that it inspires the young mother to walk across to the other side of the bench and press a kiss to the top of her daughter's head.

Bailey simply giggles at her mother's affection and little display of pride towards her as her far less innocent ulterior motives are revealed as she adds to her initial suggestion, having noted something else on the kitchen bench during the little predicament...

"Mummy and daddy can eat the spoons and Bailey can eat _both_ bowls!"

#

After their baking session, Betty puts a movie on for Bailey who is armed with a warm peanut butter cookie, telling her daughter that they will join her soon, but that mummy and daddy just needed to talk for a minute.

So, she put the Barbie movie on that Bailey asked for a little begrudgingly before dragging Jughead away from their daughter and into her bedroom by the wrist.

"Hold your horses, Betts... I know that I'm irresistible, but _please_ learn to control yourself while our daughter is in the next room over, thank you very much" Jughead teases with a grin, earning himself an unamused eye roll from his girlfriend.

Reaching out to take his hand into her own, Betty fights to hide her coy smile as she looks down to the ground, dodging his view. Then, she takes a deep breath, preparing to address the topic that she had pulled him into her bedroom to discuss; knowing that they only have a limited amount of time before their daughter would come looking for them, feeling like she was missing out.

"Look, I've been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after what happened with your job hunting and given what Veronica said that night at dinner... We both know the damage and ramifications from your decisions in the past are still undeniable. But, I can see how hard you're trying for Bailey and I... It's not fair that everyone –myself included- keeps hitting you over the head with reminders of what happened in the past. So, since then, I've been trying to find a way to extend a little more trust to you..."

Her glance briefly flickers up to him before looking away as Betty takes another deep breath, subconsciously clutching onto his hands a little tighter within hers. Meanwhile, he just nods, remaining silent as he listens to her closely with a keen interest in what she's about to tell him.

"Now, the first way I can think to do that is by letting you have more of an active role in Bailey's life, as a _parent_. Where I can, I'm going to try and hand the reins over to you, to allow you to make some decisions and to let you have more of a say in raising and disciplining her. But, for the time being, I do still have the final word, okay? However, hopefully that's something that will change over time..."

Jughead nods in response to what Betty is telling him. He is both thrilled and terrified by the prospect of having a more influential role in his daughter's life; being more of a _father_ in addition to her _friend_. After all, he still feels like he's finding his feet with parenthood and with being a dad. But, more than anything else, Jughead just hopes that he won't fail Bailey and he won't ruin all of the effort that Betty has put into raising their daughter to be the sweet and well-mannered little girl that she is.

However, despite the way that he is nodding in answer to her initial extension of trust, Betty can _see_ the fear on his face and the concern that she knows Jughead is plagued with all too often in life and in almost every area of his life; the fear of not being _enough_.

So, she gives his hands a little squeeze of reassurance before she takes one of hers that had become entangled with his, using it to stroke down the side of his face with a smile of confidence.

"You're such a good father to her already, Jug... Besides, you know that I wouldn't encourage you to have a more active role in raising her if I wasn't completely confident that you could do it."

While words of praise don't seem to penetrate and sink in, Betty's second line of reasoning _does_. After all, Jughead knows for a fact that Betty wouldn't do anything if she didn't think it was the absolute best thing for their daughter. Yet, there he is hearing that Betty believes that him having a greater role in helping her with Bailey is the absolute best thing for their little girl...

The smile on his face doesn't convey quite how deeply he is touched by her words.

So, he takes a step closer towards Betty, slowly releasing their hand that is still holding onto one another's as he places one hand on her waist as his other holds the side of her face in his hand. Then, his lips slowly draw closer towards hers, meeting in a wonderful collision of both spark and familiarity.

However, just as Jughead goes to deepen the kiss, Betty pulls away begrudgingly, knowing that not only is their daughter just a room away but also that she hasn't quite finished with her speech yet.

Betty's hand moves to the back pocket of her jeans, feeling the cold metal beneath her touch as she extracts the small object from her pocket, keeping it in her closed palm before trying to transfer into to Jughead's hand that is resting on her waist.

"What's this?" Jughead asks, knowing very well that is a key. Rather, the question is what is it a key _to_.

"It's a key..."

Jughead gives her a light-hearted eye roll at her obvious response, before pressing her with a more specific question.

"But a key to _what,_ exactly, smartie pants? A key to _your_ heart? A key to _my_ heart? A key to happiness? Or success?"

This time it's Betty who sends him and his exaggerated guesses an eye-roll as her hands reach out to him, reaching out to reconnect them after they had drifted apart over the last few minutes. Her fingertips slowly glide down his arm before ending at his free hand that she takes into her own, lacing their fingertips together as she watches him intently, nipping at the corner of her lip nervously before she speaks up, giving him an answer.

" _No_... It's a key to my place."

While just moments ago, the air had been light and humorous between them, with Betty's last seven words, the air surrounding them has suddenly grown far more serious. Now, Jughead's focus is fixed on her, watching her, studying her body language and listening intently to her every word that she has to say.

"I know that things between us are still new and our little family is just about as dysfunctional as it gets. And, let me just clarify that this _isn't_ me asking you to move in. Hell, I don't have enough wardrobe space for _that_..."

This time, it's Betty who chuckles at her own words a little nervously, biting her lip once again as she thinks of the best way to share her sentiments that she had set out to share with him.

Although he's still holding the house key in his other hand, Betty takes his hand, key and all, into her own, curling their fingers together as she speaks softly, looking down to her bedroom floor as she tries to find the words that she's attempting to convey him.

"Now, _please_ let me know if this is a little too sensitive to speak about, okay? _Okay?_ "

Holding his hands tightly within hers, Betty notes his affirmative nod before she continues speaking.

"I don't know if you remember it, but the night of your birthday party all those years ago, sitting in a booth at _Pop's_ , I remember you saying to me that you're scared of rejection..."

That night had been an enormous step forward for the two of them, beginning with a party that Jughead didn't want, leading to a blow-out between them as he released all the fears and doubts that had been hiding away in the back of his mind about them over how undeserving he was to be with her. That night, things had taken a turn for the worst after the disastrous game of truth or dare, leading to the party ending abruptly with the fist fight. However, from there on had marked a turning point. Jughead had turned _back_ to be with her, following his father's advice to cling on rather than let go; to be there when Betty needed them. So, they talked; so openly and so honestly about the deepest fears and their darkest secrets until their souls were so inextricably interwoven together. Then, after he had walked her home and crept in for a kiss goodnight that turned into so much more, it also marked the night that their daughter had been conceived as absolutely nothing stood between the two of them.

 _Of_ _course_ he remembers that night, every little detail of it, just like _her_.

Betty has barely begun speaking before she is pausing again, squeezing his hands reassuringly from within hers as she watches him intently, reminding him not to let her push him to an area that is uncomfortable for him.

"Remember; tell me to stop if talking about this gets too much for you, okay?"

Betty pauses from what she had been saying and waits in uninterrupted silence, noting the small nod he gives her to continue speaking again.

"I also remember that you told me that part of the reason that you left town was because you didn't feel like you belonged... We'd had that stupid fight, Archie and Veronica had kept the stuff about your dad from you, he was arrested and then your mum turned you away... You felt like everyone had either betrayed you or turned their back on you. From my understanding, you felt like you didn't have anywhere _to_ go and anyone to go _to_ , so you left..."

From where he is looking down at the ground, Jughead swallows at the painful reminder that Betty is detailing explicitly, both of them knowing the enormous ramifications that his decision to leave resulted in having. Then, he nods.

With a soft sigh, one of her hands untangles itself from where it had been intertwined within his and laced with his fingertips as her hand slowly begins to ascend. She strokes her way up from his hand and gently up his arm, until she reaches his cheek where her hand clasps onto the side of his face, watching him intently.

"I don't want you to ever have to feel like that again, Jug... That's why I want to give you a key. I want you to know that you are _always_ welcome with Bailey and I and that you are _always_ welcome and wanted in our home. In case you ever do feel that way again, I want you to know that you have somewhere to go next time..."

Betty briefly pauses from what she is saying, from where she is gazing up to him and watching him intently. As she gently strokes his cheek with her thumb, softly holding the side of his face in her hands, she sees the glaze of tears that are threatening his blue eyes that their daughter inherited.

"... I want you to know that you have a place with us, that you have us. You always have somewhere to go, you always have people who want you and you always have a place where you belong. We want you, Jug. _Always_... Unconditionally."

Betty's affirmations in both her words and the tangible house key that she had tucked into his hand a few minutes earlier are what result in the tear that streams down his face.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." he begins, before trailing off. It's as though he needs to excuse his tears and it's as though he needs to meet the cookie-cutter standard of a 'man'. However, he doesn't have anything to come up with in that moment. In fact, Betty senses this, reading him like a book and only furthering her reassurances to him as she presses a soft kiss to his cheek.

"No, it's okay... You don't have to say anything."

Jughead nods silently before he squeezes her hand tightly to convey what he takes a few more moments to find the words to say.

Eventually, he takes a deep breath before releasing what seems to be an even deeper exhale, like he's releasing what his chest had been holding in and clinging onto for far longer than a few moments.

Then, from where her hand is still holding the side of his face and stroking his cheek, Jughead slowly leans down, drawing closer to her as he presses a firm, but sweet, kiss of gratitude to her lips before pulling away to express his gratitude in another way.

"Thank you, Betty. _Thank you_..."

Jughead has said enough to express his gratitude and appreciation over Betty's gesture. But, that perfectly acceptable ending _isn't_ where Jughead's gratitude ends. _No_... Instead, becoming swept up in the moment and basking in his appreciation for his girlfriend and her gesture, the writer has no control over the three words that follow.

"... I love you."

* * *

 **Thank you so, so much to everyone who left such lovely and kind comments on the last chapter. Honestly, you guys have no idea how enormously grateful I am for the intensity of everyone's love and kindness towards me and my story, drowning out the hate and negativity of the chapter before that. Thank you for the love and support that you all showered over me and the last chapter at a point when I needed it. Honestly, the past three months of my personal life have been hell. I've lost a close friend suddenly, had his funeral, been through stress from work with extreme budget cuts and thinking I was going to lose my job and then starting a new job. Through all of that, writing had been my outlet, so when that was attacked in such a nasty fashion on both ao3 and FanFiction, it really was the straw that just broke the camel's back. But, on a positive note, thank you again to all the incredible, wonderful people who spoke up louder than the hate after that.**

 **I think I thanked everyone who left a comment personally, but I do want to thank Jade, Lauren, Jaclynne, Saki and 2x Guest that I couldn't thank personally. I'm so grateful for you all, and everyone else.**

 **Also, thank you for being so understanding of my break. Despite the authors note on the last chapter, I wanted to get this chapter up as soon as I could for all of the amazing people that read my story. It's not fair for you to guys to have to suffer from the nastiness that came from a minority. However, I will warn you that there'll probably be another wait with the next chapter too. I just wanted to touch base and assure you all that I'll be back, it's just taking a bit of time for me to get back up and running again.**

 **Next chapter: Jughead and Betty spend the morning with their friends, before finding a way to communicate an issue that they would have pushed to the side. **


	46. Green-Eyed Monster

**CHAPTER FORTY SIX – Green-Eyed Monster**

Betty loves _him._ No doubt about it.

In fact, Betty doesn't think that that feeling has ever ceased to exist from deep within her at any point over the last four years, since the night that she declared that very fact to her mother with such confidence on the night that her boyfriend left her.

However, unlike Jughead, Betty can't bring herself to make the same declaration in return to his. While she has no doubt over her feelings for him, her doubt lies in their circumstances and situation. It's too much, it's too fast and, the risk is too great.

As the silence following Jughead's statement begins to grow a little long and uncomfortable, his face falls with disappointment. Unsurprisingly, he looks down and he looks away from Betty, turning his attention to the ground that they are standing on, wishing for it to swallow him up whole.

Surprisingly, though, he is the next one to speak up after an 'I love you' being the very last thing that was uttered between the two of them.

"Look, you don't have say anything, Betts. You had my kid. I don't think I _can_ even level out the playing field in terms of grand gestures. I just hope I haven't screwed things up between us."

Betty sighs heavily as she catches the look of disappointment on her boyfriend's face after his declaration of those three little words goes unreciprocated, verbally at least.

So, she catches his hands within her own, grasping them and clutching them as she squeezes them tightly. She exhales as she looks to him, her green eyes gentle and kind, watching him intently as she soothingly strokes her thumbs against the outside of his hands, while she tries to find the right words to say.

"Jug? It's not that I _don't_ love you... It's just fast. Really, really _fast_. I'm more guarded this time around. I'm not the hopeless-romantic, sixteen-year-old girl who's falling in love for the first time. _She_ wound up pregnant and spent three years raising that baby alone."

This time it's Jughead turn to exhale a heavy sigh as she just squeezes his hands once again.

"I care about you so, _so_ much, Jughead Jones... In fact, 'care' doesn't even come close to the way I feel about you. But, I'm just not quite ready to say that back yet."

Jughead nods slowly and silently as he pulls her into his arms for the embrace that they both need right then and there.

While it's not the reaction he'd been hoping for from his girlfriend after professing his love for her, it is better than he had feared after the words slipped from his lips without a second thought. Honestly, it's more than he could have asked for from her.

#

The following day, Archie and Veronica had planned to tell their best friends about their pregnancy which Archie had _no_ idea that Betty already knew about, in fact even before he did. However, Betty left a little earlier in order to meet Veronica at _Pop's_ for a catch-up before the boys had arranged to join their girls later on.

Then, to kill some time and with his daughter in tow, Jughead headed to the playground at the end of the street of Betty's childhood home. Seeing as it was a nice day and Bailey had seemed a bit restless inside from the moment he arrived at Betty's, Jughead had then taken his daughter for the short walk from his girlfriend's apartment and to the closest park.

The father and daughter spent a few minutes sliding down the slide together, followed by him helping her on the monkey-bars before racing over to the swings pleading: "Push me super, super high please, daddy!"

They have been there ever since with Jughead pushing her as Bailey flies back and forth from where she's buckled into the play equipment, holding onto either side of the chain tightly, giggling every now and then after an especially high push or an unexpected drop.

"Hey man."

Jughead only notes the truck that has pulled over nearby when his attention is grabbed by his best friend who is approaching him.

"Hey" Jughead returns with a smile as Archie walks over and joins him at the playground while he pushes his daughter back and forth rhythmically.

Archie quickly pokes his head in front of the three-year-old who is swinging back and forth, greeting his two best friend's daughter, too.

"Hey Bailey!"

There's a giggle of delight as Bailey spots the familiar red-head, curling a little smile in the corner of Jughead's lips at the interaction between his best friend and his daughter.

"Uncle Archie! Hi!"

As Jughead pushes her into the air once again, Archie returns to his friend's side with the three-year-old quite occupied with being swung.

"So how are you going?" Archie asks conversationally. "I was going to join the girls a few minutes early but then I saw you two so I thought I'd come and join you guys instead."

Jughead nods in understanding, glancing to his friend and then to his daughter who's swinging back and forth.

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"What's up?" Archie asks with a creased brow. Instantaneously he can sense that something is up with one of his best friend's, regardless of whether or not Jughead _wants_ to hide it.

Then, Jughead glances at his closest friend, giving him a shrug, followed by a sigh.

"I told Betty that I love her..."

Archie's brown eyes widen in interest, his eyebrows beginning to furrow just a little as he notes the look on his friend's face, realising that those two factors must be connected but not in a good way, as Jughead confirms when he continues to speak.

"... And, she didn't say it back."

Archie nods, wincing for his friend sympathetically as he claps a hand to the raven-haired-man's shoulder.

"Veronica didn't tell me she loved me back at first either. It hurts, I know it does, but it's just _words_... Betty had your kid, Jug. She couldn't let herself love another man because she loved _you_. She was willing to explore what's between you two again, even despite the way things between you ended the first time around. She's telling you that she loves you in so many other ways than with words."

Jughead nods, doing a double take as he glances over to his friend, wondering where on earth this fountain of wisdom is coming from. Who is this person and what have they done with Archie Andrews?

"But, hang in there... She loves you, Jug. She might not have said it, but she does. You know that I know her. Our women just like to play a bit of hard to get."

Though he appreciates his best friend's reassurances, a small smirk fills Jughead's face as he looks over to Archie with amusement.

"Geez, what have you done with Archie? But thanks, man. I appreciate you saying all that. Like you said, it's hard to swallow, but I can't blame Betty after everything I've put her through in the past. "

Archie grins at his best friend's tease, just shrugging complacently.

"I've been working on my pearls of wisdom. That and my dad jokes..."

This time, it's Jughead's eyes who widen. However, as soon as the thought crosses his mind, it really doesn't surprise him, given that Jughead had come across a pregnancy test for someone else in his girlfriend's handbag about a week ago.

"Veronica's pregnant?"

The smile that spreads across Archie's face is instantaneous, evident in the light in his eyes, his beaming cheeks and, of course, his enormous grin.

"Yeah, Jug. I'm gonna be a dad..."

As Jughead gives Bailey one big push on the swing that is enough to propel her back and forth a few times without his further help, Jughead then claps his arms around his childhood best friend in a brief man-hug.

"Congrats, man! I can't believe that you were letting me moan and groan on about my problems when you were holding _that_ in..."

Archie just chuckles at Jughead's joy over his news. He's basking in the joy of sharing his news with his best friend before the colour begins to drain from his face as he realises the detail that had been at the forefront of his mind when he approached Jughead which had slipped from his mind in that time...

"Ah hell, I just remembered that I wasn't actually supposed to say anything to you before we meet up with the girls... Can you not let on that you know anything? Veronica will _kill_ me and I'm trying to stay alive for long enough to meet my kid."

As he pushes his daughter up in the air, Jughead gives Archie a reassuring nod, failing to hide his chuckle of amusement as a little thought strikes him...

Ah, _there_ is the Archie Andrews that he knows and loves.

#

As their milkshakes are placed in front of them by the man who has fed and watered those girls along with their boyfriends for many, many years with a smile, it seems to mark the end of the light-hearted small talk as the two girls get into the nitty gritty, finally asking and answering the bigger questions.

"So, how are you feeling, V?"

"I'm feeling _better_... The morning sickness has still been pretty chronic all day, every day. That hasn't really changed. Although it's taking time and I still have some little reservations every now and then, I do feel better about my pregnancy as a whole."

"So you're going through with it?" Betty asks, just receiving a small nod from her friend who still doesn't seem entirely thrilled by her situation.

However, Betty smiles at everything that her best friend is telling her, extending a hand out to give Veronica's a squeeze.

"I'm glad that you're feeling a little more at peace. You'll still have your good days, your bad days and your am-I-doing-the-right-thing days, but I'm glad you're feeling better about it overall. Hopefully the morning sickness will pass for you soon."

Veronica smiles at her friend's reassurances, knowing that she can take her word for it from the experienced young mother.

"Thanks, B. By the way, we've asked to meet up with you and Jughead with the idea of telling you both together... Archie doesn't actually know that _you_ know yet. Would you mind making out that you don't know I'm pregnant? I didn't tell Archie that you were there when I took the test and honestly I think it'd hurt him a bit to know that you knew about the baby before he did."

Betty weighs the idea up momentarily, disliking the idea of lying to one of her best friends for the sake of the other. However, Betty knows that Veronica is probably right and that knowing that she knew about her friend's unborn baby first would hurt Archie more than it would help him.

"Okay, I'll try my best."

"Thank you. I really appreciate that. Partly too because I already told Archie that I waited a few days after finding out before telling him about the baby... I don't regret it though. I really did need that time to be sure of my decision and to be certain that I wasn't just going to be going along with it just because this has happened when it has. I felt like I needed to make sure that I wasn't just trapped in a drifting current so that I wouldn't grow to despise Archie or the baby just because we're going to be starting a family sooner than we had anticipated."

Betty nods in acknowledgement, listening closely to what her friend is saying. She's doing her best to understand Veronica and her feelings towards her own pregnancy. After all, although they're best friends, the two girls have felt so, completely different in experiencing the very same thing.

"So how are you feeling about the pregnancy now?"

"Good... It still feels a little sooner than I would have liked, but I truly feel like it's something that I can grow to live with and accept over time. Honestly, I think a part of my initial feelings were guilt, like thinking back to that night we had you guys over before I knew about the baby and I drank too much. But I feel better after mentioning it to the doctor…"

Betty just nods, sensing as though her friend needs to talk and get things off her chest, just nodding as she takes a sip of her drink and allowing Veronica to continue bubbling away.

"Talking to Archie really helped me, too. He found it hard to understand my feelings at first when I told him that I wasn't as excited as he was and I didn't feel naturally maternal. But talking things through with him helped. While it makes sense for me to be the primary carer during the day seeing as he works full time with the Construction company while I primarily work from home, he has promised that he'll step in more on the weekends and make sure I get time away from the baby to work or take a breather."

Nodding in answer to her friend's explanation, Betty is so glad to see how much better Veronica seems to be coping than the state she was in on the day that she had first learnt of her pregnancy.

Then, she's just about to ask a few more questions in order to try and get a better idea of how Veronica is coping with the thought of her pregnancy when the two girls are interrupted by the ring of the bell hanging over the door in the small town's diner, followed by a squealed " _mummy!_ " as two little feet come racing over to Betty and Veronica's booth.

"Hey baby girl" Betty smiles as her daughter reaches her booth with an enormous smile, climbing across the seat in order to throw her arms around her mother.

The interaction between the young mother and her daughter leaves the expectant mother-to-be gushing from the other side of the table.

"Did you have fun with daddy?"

Instantly Betty feels her daughter nod against her chest from where she has settled into her arms as she presses a kiss to her golden locks before the little girl turns to look up at her.

" _And_ Uncle Archie..."

Then, as if on cue, the two men arrive at the same booth that Bailey had raced towards just moments earlier while they trailed behind her.

Betty gives her boyfriend a small smile in greeting, scooping their daughter up into her arms in order to make room for him on the seat as he gives her shoulder a silent little squeeze.

On the other side of the table, Archie sinks into the booth beside his wife, with concern etched on his face as he touches her gently. He's looking for any sign of physical harm and any cuts or bruises, as if there was a strong possibility that she'd been through the wars in the time since they'd parted ways earlier that morning. Of course, Archie's overzealous search comes up with nothing other than Veronica's grumpy reassurances that she's perfectly fine.

As if the news that the newlyweds had gathered their friends together to tell them wasn't known by each of their friends _already_ , Archie's fussing and the way his gaze keeps returning to his wife's abdomen makes Veronica's pregnancy obvious even to Blind Freddy.

"So... You said that you wanted to meet us?" Jughead asks naively, playing along with the fact that he'd sworn to Archie that he wouldn't let on about the fact that the two of them have just spent the last half an hour talking about what Veronica and Archie had gathered them together to tell them.

Then, seeing as Betty had been right there by Veronica's side as her pregnancy was confirmed, knowing about Archie's child even before he did, Betty too had been sworn to secrecy.

Nonetheless, the four of them are still gathered together for Archie and Veronica to formally tell Betty and Jughead the news that they both _already_ know but need to pretend that they do not know, seeing as their friend's spouse doesn't know that _they_ know.

Prompted by Jughead's not-so discreet reminder, Archie and Veronica look to each other with a little grin as he wraps an arm around her from where they're seated next to each other in the double seat at the booth. Glancing back and forth to each other, they are wordlessly determining 'me or you?' as they look to each other with bright eyes at sharing their news that they've both already shared.

Then, as he turns his attention away from his wife as he looks to his two best friends with a smile, Archie takes a deep breath before speaking up.

"Thanks for coming guys. We wanted you guys to be one of the first to know... Ronnie and I are having a baby."

"Congratulations you two!" Betty says as her faces lights up brightly at the expected news.

Meanwhile, Jughead does his best impression of looking surprised with his acting skills falling flat from his exclamation.

"Oh _wow_..."

Betty shoots a sideways glance to her boyfriend, biting her lip to hide her smirk. She can see _straight_ through him and she is almost convinced that he too knew about the news that they are both acting surprised over.

Meanwhile, Veronica and Archie glance at each other as they share in the joy of their friend's reactions as they _officially_ share their news with them.

Then, as a seasoned professional when it comes to pregnancies, Betty makes up for what her boyfriend lacks in his acting skills, knowing just the right questions that she already knows the answer to as she begins to raise questions to her friend.

"So do you know how far along you are?"

"Roughly ten weeks" Veronica begins as Archie takes over and continues to speak. "We just couldn't wait any longer to tell you guys."

While they were still planning to hold off just a little longer before sharing their news with their family and other friends, Veronica had agreed to her husband telling Betty and Jughead, seeing as she knew one half of them already knew and she had great doubt that Archie would be able to keep it from Jughead for long. Since Archie hadn't even been able to wait half an hour for their meeting at _Pop's_ to spill his news to Jughead only proved his wife's point...

Calling Archie 'excited' about becoming a father is a massive understatement. In fact, he can barely keep his hands from reaching out and touching his wife's completely flat stomach and non-existent baby belly as he fails to hide his smile, grinning from ear-to-ear as Veronica continues to explain to their friends.

"So we really wanted to tell you guys, but we're planning on keeping quiet about the baby until I'm passed the three-month mark."

Then, as Betty and Jughead smile at their friend's happiness, Betty looks down to her own daughter as she begins to shuffle around from where she's sitting on her lap, with her head resting against Betty's chest sleepily. Her three-year-old had been so unusually quiet and still that Betty was beginning to suspect that Bailey had fallen asleep in her arms.

"A baby?! Where's a baby?!"

While she had been wondering if Bailey _was_ asleep, all of a sudden, Betty wishes that she _had_ been.

"The baby's not here just yet, Bailey. The baby's growing in Aunty Ronnie's tummy right now."

Both of Bailey's parents look down to her, catching the look of wonder and amazement on her face that comes from Archie's explanation.

"Wow! I fink that's why mummy tells me to put my toys away… They might get lost and go in tummies!"

Betty bites her lip to hold back her laughter at her daughter's understanding that failing to tidy toys up after herself may be what leads to impregnation.

" _Well_ , it's a good thing that you're pregnant with a baby and not Bailey's kitchen set then, Veronica..." Jughead utters in a hushed tone, hoping it'll go over his daughter's head as the four adults try their best to hold back their laughter, snickering at the innocence of the three-year-old in their presence.

Archie's the first to laugh out loud, using it as yet another excuse to turn his attention to his wife's abdomen that is as flat as ever.

Across the other side of the table, Betty inhales a sharp breath, watching on at the interactions between her best friends, feeling the undeniable pang of pain at their joy, at everything they're experiencing _together_ and everything she didn't have as she presses a kiss to the top of daughter's hair in a feeble attempt to comfort herself.

As happy as she is for her friends, she hurts for herself and she hurts for Jughead...

She hurts for not having had the man sitting beside her there to enthuse about their unborn baby, to make sure that she didn't lift a finger, to wait on her hand and foot and to experience the excitement that came with their daughter's development over nine months… She hurts for the fact that he never had the opportunity to know what was growing and developing within her as it did, that he never had the chance to try and feel the flutters within her and to catch the movement as it increased to distinguishable kicks and then to hard pounds... He never had the chance to hear the magic of their daughter's heartbeat for the very first time, to see all the little changes and developments as Bailey grew within her and to see all the ways she'd grown and developed between each ultrasound photo.

But, as she sits there with her daughter on her lap and her boyfriend by her side, Betty focuses on keeping her smile wide and intact for her friends, trying her best to paint the picture of joy on her face for their sake, despite her own pangs of pain on the inside.

#

After their meeting at _Pop's_ and although the expectant parents had been wrapped up in their own little bubble, Archie offered for he and Veronica to get a bit of practice in by looking after Bailey for the rest of the day; a suggestion that was seconded by his wife.

Checking that the idea is okay with Jughead too and ensuring that Bailey was comfortable with it, Betty handed Bailey's belongings over to Archie and told Veronica any details she'd need to know. Then, with a kiss to the top of her daughter's blonde hair and a hug goodbye, Betty had been quick to flee and leave her daughter with her two best friends not long after, immediately setting course for home.

She's actually extremely thankful for the timing of her friend's offer. After all, as thrilled as she is for her best friend's and their happiness, on the other hand, Betty couldn't wait to get away from the sting of watching Archie's excitement and listening to him go on and on about being a father, as Veronica basks in his delight by his side. It stings, watching what she never experienced and seeing what they never had.

So, she hurried home, she changed into warm, comforting clothes and she poured herself a glass of wine and hit her little chocolate stash that she kept hidden away from her three-year-olds reach, finding the small notebook that she hadn't looked at in years, that she's not quite sure whether it will help or hinder her in that moment.

However, knowing his girlfriend, Jughead had sensed at least _some_ of what Betty was feeling and experiencing both from his trained eye and his own sting as he watched Archie and Veronica, basking in the delight of their impending parenthood. The combination of the two factors had been what led him to stand outside his girlfriend's door, knocking on the other side of it.

He _has_ a key; Betty had given it to him a little over a week ago as she impressed upon him his belonging in her home. However, fearing that Betty was struggling, Jughead didn't want to just barge in and invade her privacy if space was what she needed in that moment.

"Hey you..."

His voice is warm and gentle as Betty slowly opens the door, relaxing a little upon the sight of him. She doesn't think she could handle an unexpected visit from her mother to inspect her home and her personal appearance at this point in time.

"Hey. Come in... You didn't use your key?"

Jughead shakes his head as he walks through the door that his girlfriend is holding open for him, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek as he walks past.

"Nah... I wasn't sure if you were up for visitors. I didn't want to overstep."

Betty shoots him a small, grateful smile, closing the door behind her as she walks over to him, collapsing into his arms. He holds her, tight and close in his strong arms as she rests against his chest, inhaling the scent of him as she buries her head further into him and further from the world and the problems surrounding her.

"Are you okay?" Jughead murmurs as he speaks into her hair, slowly running his hands up and down her back as he holds her tightly against him.

Jughead feels her sniffle against him before she has a chance to speak up and answer him, prompting him to press a gentle kiss into her locks.

"It's so nice for V and Arch, hey? It'll be nice for Bailey to have a little friend" Betty says through a sniffle, failing to fool him as she focuses on her happiness for her friends.

"Yeah, it is nice for them and for Bailey, too. But, I'm not talking about them right now. I'm talking about _you_. How are you?"

Betty exhales painfully, glancing up to him with her green eyes filled with tears.

"I'm struggling..."

Her words and her forming tears break his heart as his arms fall around her supportively, holding her tightly into him once again as he presses kisses into her hair, over and over again.

"I feel like a monster, Jug. I'm a terrible friend. My best friends are having a baby; I should be so happy for them, not crying at home."

"You are **not** a monster, nor are you a terrible friend. You're human, Betts. And, I think you and I both know that this isn't really _about_ Veronica and Archie..."

Betty sighs at his ability to see straight through transparently. He's right. Veronica and Archie and their joy had only triggered her feelings about her own past, her own pain and her own scars.

She doesn't say a thing, she doesn't have to. They both know that he's right.

"I'm sorry, Betty. You feeling like this is my fault. I wasn't there to be your Archie..."

Exhaling another heavy sigh, Betty shifts from within his arms, reaching up to press a gentle hand to the side of his face, stroking his cheek with her thumb.

"I'm not blaming you, Jug, and I'm not bitter about _us_. It's so selfish of me but I just feel a bit sad, really... Seeing V and Archie today, it just made me think about how I wish you were there and it made me think about everything I wish you could have experienced, too."

"I thought that much..." he sighs, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair before he continues to speak to her in a soft voice.

"Honestly, I was in the same boat, thinking about everything I missed out on while you were pregnant with Bailey."

Betty nods, continuing to stroke his cheek gently as she gazes up to him, looking him in the eyes as she stands flush against him.

However, despite their idyllic dreams, deep down Betty knows that things would have been different for them, no matter what, and even if she _hadn't_ spent the first three-and-a-half years of their daughter's life raising her single-handedly. They just wouldn't have had the stability in their lives that their friends do...

They _wouldn't_ have been Archie and Veronica.

Betty was sixteen and Jughead would have been seventeen when they were faced with one of the most life-changing things a couple can experience; _not_ twenty and married... Even if he _had_ been there, it wouldn't have been like it is for Archie and Veronica... They would have been in high school, rather than graduated with the money and careers behind them that their friends do... They'd only been together for a few short months, not the years that Veronica and Archie have behind them as a couple, along with almost a year of marriage…

They just _wouldn't_ have been in the same situation as their friends who she can't help but envy.

So, while she can wish to be in their shoes, deep down Betty knows that their situation would never have been like Archie and Veronica's is, no matter what. Their lives would have been nothing like theirs that she's envying right now.

"I know... It's not fair to me and it's not fair to you. I should have had your support and you should have been able to experience _everything_ with our daughter. But even if you had been there when we had Bailey, our situation never would have been like Veronica and Archie's."

Jughead presses a gentle kiss to her hair, nodding in agreement of what she's telling him.

"You're right, I know. But, we just should have had the chance to be happy together at that time in our lives..."

Betty sighs, inhaling into him and the comfort he's providing her as he holds her tight and close into him. Then, as she releases her breath, she pulls away and takes his hand to lead him over to her lounge on the other side of her lounge room.

She takes a seat first, flopping down onto her second-hand lounge comfortably as she quickly picks up the book on the other side of the lounge, closing the old notebook and tucking it away before he takes a seat beside her.

"What's that?" he asks, gesturing to the notebook that she'd tucked under her a little suspiciously.

Betty blanches, freezing as she looks to him and then looks away, only intensifying Jughead's gaze on his girlfriend.

"Betts... What is it?"

Once again, she looks over to him before flinching away. However, this time, her gaze returns to him as she exhales a sigh and pulls out the notebook that she had been looking through today, for the first time in four years.

"It's one of my notebooks from back then, through during most of my pregnancy... I'd actually planned to give it to you if you ever came back. It probably sounds a bit silly, but I kind of addressed most of the entries to you. I think it started with me wanting to tell you about everything and make sure you missed out on as little as possible. But, from then on I think it just became like diary entries, helping me to cope with whatever was going on at the time, just addressed to you."

Jughead nods, casting his eyes down to the notebook in his girlfriend's hands, thumbing over the pink leather beside her own fingers.

"Well, if the entries are addressed to me, then can I read it?"

"It's pretty emotionally explicit, Jug. I don't know, but you might find it a bit confronting."

This time, he takes the notebook from her hands and places it on the small amount of space between them on the lounge, taking both her hands into his instead.

"I _want_ to read it, Betts... I think that I need to. I think I need to know everything you experienced and everything you struggled through. And, I think that _you_ need me to know what life was like for you, too."

So, with a deep breath and a nod, she hands the notebook over to him as he pulls her into his arms.

* * *

 **Hope you all liked that one! Bit more on Archie and Veronica in this one, too, with a bit of Archie & Jug, B&V and a slither of Varchie in the chapter. I'd love to know what you thought of all the different little conversations. **

**I'm so grateful for the people who support me and my writing. Shout out to JMM316, PerfectlySquare3826, Marie King, hopelessromantic618, Alana Lissens, Jade, Lauren and a Guest for leaving a review on the last chapter. Thank you!**

 **Also, thanks for being patient with a little more time between chapters of late. I've really been needing the break from being so intensely focused on a proofreading/posting schedule. However, it's given me a great chance to jump ahead with writing. There are a few storylines coming up that I'm really excited to share with you! The next two chapters are on the heavier side but then there's good things ahead!**

 **Next chapter: Bit of a different one next time! The chapter's in the format of diary entries as Jughead is confronted with tough truths as he reads about the full extent of Betty's life without him.**


	47. Dear Jughead, Love Betts

**CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN – Dear Jughead, Love Betts**

After their meeting with their friends where they had to fake their surprise at their news that they both already knew, Betty returned home, with Jughead turning up on her doorstep shortly after she did. After all, they were child-free for the night with their expectant friends offering to look after their daughter for the rest of the day.

Then, not long after she had invited him inside had Jughead seen the notebook that she'd been reading over before his arrival, while armed with a glass of wine and a block of chocolate.

He had asked what she was reading, she had explained and he had asked to read the diary entries that had basically been directed to him, just about begging her to read through it despite her advice that it may be a little too confronting for him all beginning just weeks after he left her and days after she learned of her pregnancy.

Then, armed with his girlfriend's four year old diary that she handed to him, Jughead trailed through to their daughter's room, sitting on Bailey's bedside as he begins the journey through Betty's life that he had left behind to live…

* * *

 **18** **th** **November**

Dear Jughead,

Where are you?

So, I'm pregnant... We're having a baby.

I'm six weeks so far, but you probably could have figured that out with some simple subtraction from this date back. My first appointment is scheduled for two weeks time. My mum thinks that I've got plans to go shopping with Veronica in Greendale. Oh, if only...

Speaking of, Veronica bought me a baby book and a notebook to write in a few days ago. I'm keeping both in my school locker right now - at least until my parents inevitably find out.

That brings me to this diary... I don't know what I'll use it for exactly, tracking my pregnancy or noting details or something, I'm not too sure. Anyway, I saw the school counsellor a few weeks ago after it became apparent that you'd left for good and she encouraged me to start writing my thoughts down as a coping mechanism. But I must say that I've really only started writing things down since learning about my pregnancy and after Veronica gave me the book.

Anyway, either way and no matter what 'this' _is_ it's helping me to get my head around my pregnancy. It's like writing more words about _one_ word is helping to make it feel more real. That, along with tracking the baby's growth, seeing how big they are and reading about what new developments they're experiencing, too. Even though I've known for a couple of days now, it's still hard to fathom that all of that is going on inside of me...

Honestly, I'm terrified. I'm scared witless. I am so, so terrified of being a mum. I've never _been_ so terrified in my life...

But, I want to do it.

Something else I can't make sense of is where you are and why you left the way that you did. I don't know what I did to deserve the way you left. I know we'd fought that night, but I didn't think that that was the end. I don't know why you just abandoned me and our relationship rather than ending things between us properly. I don't even know if you just stopped feeling the way you did about me, if you ever _did_ feel that way. I honestly don't know… I don't understand it. I don't understand any of it. But, that's not really the biggest fish I have to fry anymore.

Honestly Jug, _where are you?_

Love,  
Betts

* * *

 **24** **th** **November**

Dear Jughead,

17 calls, 8 emails, 41 text messages... That's today alone.

After school we went and did another sweep of Greendale, putting up fresh posters. The last few weeks after school that's what we've done around town and a few surrounding ones.

I told Archie about the baby today, too. He, Veronica and I were in a small diner in Greendale (it had nothing on _Pop's_ , by the way) and away from any eavesdroppers. He looked like he was going to pass out at first. Then once he got over the shock of it he refused to even let me carry my handbag or even my bottle of water around.

I think he's going to be a good uncle...

Seriously though, Jug... Where are you?

Love Betts

* * *

 **6** **th** **December**

Dear Jughead,

I had my first prenatal appointment and ultrasound today... I must say that I'm relieved that I'd told V to wait outside. Anyway, I'm eight and a half weeks at the moment. No surprises there that the doctor confirmed my due date today seeing as there was only a grand total of _one_ potential date of conception.

I wasn't sure if they'd do an ultrasound or not today, but oh Jug, I saw them. I saw him or her. They're healthy. He or she is about the size of an olive at the moment. An _olive_... All my fears, all my planning and all the time I've spent thinking and worrying about it and they're not even as big as one little, tiny olive.

Hopefully you'll be there for the next appointment.

I don't know, maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Love Betts

* * *

 **16** **th** **December**

Dear Jughead,

I still don't really know what _this_ is. I don't know if it's a bunch of random thoughts and things I want to remember to tell you or I don't know if it's really just more of a therapeutic thing and a chance to get things off my chest...

This week's been pretty overwhelming since the appointment. Everything's become so much more real and everything feels like it's sinking in more... That's _including_ the enormity of the fact I'm carrying a baby and that in seven months time, he or she is going to depend on me for absolutely _everything_.

It's also made it harder to deny that I'm going to have to face our parents...

I wasn't sure whether or not to tell your dad and try to reach your mum or not, but I figure that they're the baby's grandparents, regardless of whether or not you're here. I won't stop them from being in his or her life if they would like to be.

As for my parents, geez Jug, I'm just really, really hoping that they learnt their lesson from dealing with Polly's pregnancy the way that they did and that following my sister's footsteps won't land me at The Sisters of Quiet Mercy...

Love Betts

P.S. I'm an aunty! I promise I'll spend more time on finding a baby name than it seems my sister did.

* * *

 **2** **nd** **January**

Dear Jughead,

I haven't had too much time to write lately with the holiday season and New Years. Plus my family and I went to spend two weeks with Polly and the babies so I left _this_ behind for obvious reasons and to avert a crisis. _Imagine that_ … Dear mum, please discover the fact that your _other_ unwed, teenage daughter is pregnant through the pages of her diary. _You're welcome_.

... Honestly, that option is actually starting to sound pretty darn great if it means I don't have to find a way to actually _tell_ my parents about the baby. Mind you, I thought I was going to have to tell them between trying to disguise my chronic 'car sickness' and the fact that it didn't go away even after we'd been at Polly's for a few days, only to be replaced by a bout of gastro. I actually can't believe my mum hasn't clued it out already... The irony is that I think she's been so distracted by _Polly's_ babies that she hasn't worked it out about _ours_.

Anyway, I think I've been trying to forget that I have a ticking deadline to tell my parents by...

Love Betts

P.S. On a strange note, with the start of the New Year, it's got me thinking about the fact that we're going to be parents this year... _What_.

* * *

 **3** **rd** **January**

Dear Jughead,

I figured the best time to tell my parents about grandbaby number three is _now_. You know, they got all their disappointment and disbelief out in the car on the way to see Polly. Then, by the time they had the babies in their hands that all seemed to be forgotten; water under the bridge. So, I think the timing is probably about as good as it's going to get...

After all, what's one more grandchild and one more sixteen-and-pregnant disappointment of a daughter, right?

For all the research I've done and all the books I've read on pregnancy and babies, I still feel no more prepared _whatsoever_ to be trying to tell my parents about the baby. Do I ease them into it slowly? Explain how we got into this mess? Just drop it like a grenade? In person? Over the phone? Get Archie or Veronica to tell them? Carrier pigeon? Maybe I just won't say a thing and let either my baby bump or the baby itself be the way of them finding out.

Anyway, fingers crossed that the next time I write in here it won't be from The Sisters of Quiet Mercy...

Honestly, running away is really sounding pretty darn great right about now.

Love Betts

* * *

 **5** **th** **January**

So, my parents know about the baby.

God, it was awful. The silence felt like it last a lifetime and honestly I think _that_ was so much worse than anything that they could have said.

Mum looked so disappointed. I thought she was going to cry. Then, she just kind of went on to attack you.

Dad refused to call me, my pregnancy or the baby anything other than 'this mess'.

All of it was just _awful_...

The only thing I hope is that things will improve before the baby's born. I don't want him or her to be born into feeling like a disappointment or a taboo topic. It's not his or her fault at all, after all.

Suddenly I understand Polly's decision so much more to run away and escape the judgement for a fresh start. Honestly, that's not sounding half bad...

So, right now all I want is to bury myself in a tub of ice-cream but my morning sickness has made a delightful comeback this week... You have a _lot_ to answer for, Jones.

Love Betts

* * *

 **20** **th** **January**

Dear Jughead,

I haven't had much of a chance to write lately. Life's been busy. School's been full-on. I've picked up some after-school tutoring work to build up my savings, too.

My parents haven't really spoken about or acknowledged the baby much at all. Mum checks I've been taking my prenatal vitamins and that's about it while I don't think dad has looked me in the eye since I sat them down and told them about the baby.

I think I've been beginning to show over the last week, too. My bump's barely even a bump; just a little, tiny mound of firmness that is still mistaken as a big lunch to most people. Even despite the very early beginning signs of what's happening within me, it still takes so much to wrap my head around it.

I've been thinking a lot lately, too. You know, just evaluating...

In the lead up to the last few months of school, the teachers have been going on and on and on about our futures and our lifepaths and it's more than a little hard to ignore the course that _I'm_ set for unlike everyone else. I don't know, I wouldn't necessarily call it hesitations or second thoughts, but I'm just _evaluating_... I don't even know if an abortion would be possible at this stage, but I never ever considered it as an option before now. However, I have been _evaluating_ of late... It's still not a possibility or something I want, but I've just been making sure that I'm not just caught in a current and that I actually want this baby and this life. I think I'm just trying to make sure that _I'm_ sure that it's not an option in my eyes.

Adoption, on the other hand... I must say that I have spent a fair bit of time considering that one just lately. After all, all this talk about the future has got me thinking about mine and the fact that it's not _just_ mine. Honestly, I just want the best for our baby, hence why I could never harbour the idea of termination. But, I'm not sure what the best thing is for him or her... How do you compare and weigh up a young, unprepared and unequipped biological mother against a settled and idyllic family that's prepared for and wanting to take in a baby to call their own? Honestly, what is best in that situation? There's no equation for _that_.

Anyway, just lately, I'm not so certain that _I'm_ the answer to that question anymore...

Love Betts

* * *

 **28** **th** **January**

Dear Jughead,

What a day...

I'm here, spending the night here in hospital under observation.

I thought I was losing our baby...

It started when I began getting discomfort and an aching back while I was making lunch earlier today. The back ache turned into cramps and the cramps turned into _awful_ pain. Just a few spots of blood was all it took for panic stations to set in.

Thankfully my dad was home to rush me to the hospital... Thankfully I was a priority from the second I was rushed in... Thankfully it wasn't too late or too serious... At only fifteen-and-a-half weeks, it could have been... But, more than anything else, _thankfully_ our baby is okay.

Today has been an eye-opener...

Before today, I was just _having_ the baby. To me, having it was what felt like the best decision in a bad situation. But, today, when losing him or her became a reality and when that should have been a wish come true for the problem to just _disappear_ , I realised just how much I _want_ this baby.

It defies logic and sense and basically everything at my age, but God, I want our baby.

Love Betts

* * *

 **6** **th** **February**

Dear Jughead,

After my scare, the doctor recommended I take a week off school and take it easy.

I knew the time was coming in one way or another but me taking a week off of school out-of-the-blue along with the whispers that circulated about the fact that I'd been sent to hospital was what set off the chain of events and gossip that eventually led to the kids at school finding out about my pregnancy.

That's been really hard over the last few days and since going back to school. All the dirty looks, all the whispers, all the names, all the sympathy... I don't know... I don't feel like people see Betty Cooper as _Betty Cooper_ anymore. I think people either see this poor, abandoned pregnant teenager or a slut. Suddenly the studious goody-two-shoes stereotype doesn't seem so bad anymore.

It's not just me, either. I've done my best to dispel the rumours when and where I can, but they're talking about you, too. 99% of people have jumped to the conclusion that since _I'm_ pregnant and _you're_ gone, that that's the reason why you left. Your name's been copping quite a few insults too, I'm sorry to say.

On another note, I've arranged a prison visit to see your dad in a few days time. He shouldn't have to find out that he's going to be a grandpa through the grapevine, after all.

Pop Tate offered me a job today, too. He didn't mention it, but I think he'd heard about the baby. I'm grateful, nonetheless. So, anyway, I start next week so long as I get the all clear from my doctor to be working on my feet.

Love Betts

* * *

 **17** **th** **February**

Dear Jughead,

Baby's first trip to jail today...

Now _there_ are a couple of words that I never thought I'd be stringing together at my age.

Honestly, I think I was so much more scared about telling your dad than I should have been. I could tell he was pretty damn floored and I could tell that he was struggling to wrap his head around it. But, he tried to recover from the shock and pick himself back up again as quickly as he could. He asked all the right questions, he made sure that the baby and I are okay and he checked that I'm looking after myself.

I gave your dad my spare ultrasound photo. I wanted him to have it to be able to give to you if you show up again. I thought that you might be more inclined to see him over me. However, I'm not so sure you're going to be able to get that picture off of him now...

I think our kid's going to have at least one pretty great grandpa.

Love Betts

P.S. On a side-note, BJ ('Baby Jones') is eighteen weeks today. That's Archie's latest-and-greatest nickname for the baby.

* * *

 **2** **nd** **March**

Dear Jughead,

Twenty weeks today. Halfway there... That's an utterly terrifying fact. Honestly, twenty weeks ago and back when life was (relatively) normal does not feel all that long ago. Yet, in twenty weeks time (give or take), there's going to be no going back to life as I know it.

God, I'm not ready.

Love Betts

* * *

 **5** **th** **March**

Dear Jughead,

Much to Veronica's disappointment, I could have found out if we're having a boy or a girl today; whether it's a he or a she, a Mr. or Miss. Jones and whether we're going to have a son or a daughter...

I don't know, I thought about it but it just didn't feel right for me to find out whether we're having a baby boy or a baby girl when _you_ don't even know that we're having a baby boy **or** a baby girl...

I hope that changes.

I _really_ hope that changes soon.

Love Betts

P.S. As far as the doctor can tell, bubs is perfectly healthy and measuring up just about where they should be.

* * *

 **13** **th** **March**

Dear Jughead,

Went maternity shopping and hit a few baby stores today.

It started off as Veronica and I but she dragged poor Archie along with us too as an added contraceptive measure, I'm guessing. Anyway, the three of us went shopping for me now that my clothes are all ranked somewhere between a-bit-of-a-squeeze and no-way-will-that-fit. You have a lot to answer for, Jones.

Anyway, I bought my first thing for the baby today...

I bought him, or her, this little overall jumpsuit. You know that kindy photo of the two of us from the day when we both turned up in light denim overalls and a white shirt? To this day, my mum _still_ justifies that outfit with the fact that apparently my shirt had frills along the collar and cuffs. Anyway, I saw a little outfit almost _identical_ to the ones we were wearing in that photos of us together. I don't know, I just thought it would be a little bit sweet to get a photo of the baby to compare with the photo of both of us in a similar little outfit.

Veronica bought the baby something cashmere and Archie gave bubs this little white onesie that just says _'Plot Twist'_. Sounds about right, hey?

I don't know... I think I'm beginning to get a little excited. Just a little bit.

Love Betts

* * *

 **19** **th** **March**

Dear Jughead,

First kick today! It was as I was finishing my shift and just when I was about to leave _Pop's_. This kid is _already_ telling me that they don't want to be pulled away from that place, just like their dad.

Anyway, I'm really relieved that I _finally_ felt something clearly. I'd actually been going to book an appointment if I hadn't felt anything by the end of the week. I think I've been reading too many horror stories and worst-case-scenarios in all my research. Each passing day I was beginning to get more and more concerned about not feeling a definite kick so I'm so really relieved that I finally did. There had been a few flutters before that but it was nothing that I could confidently say was _definitely_ the baby and nothing that I could _definitely_ pin-point as movement.

I can't even describe the feeling... It was so strong and so clear, yet in another way it was so soft and gentle. It was pretty great. Veronica barely removed her hands from my belly since I told her about it.

Love Betts

* * *

 **27** **th** **March**

Dear Jughead,

Seventeen today... It's kind of pathetic how much better I feel like 'seventeen-and-pregnant' sounds than 'sixteen-and-pregnant'. Some kind of silver-lining, hey?

Love Betts

* * *

 **12** **th** **April**

Dear Jughead,

Been pretty busy with school... Even though there's still about six weeks left, all the teachers are trying to finalise as much as they can as early as possible.

I've also picked up a bit more work than usual. It's really hard and it's getting harder with the long days and being on my feet so much, but hey I don't have much choice, really. If I don't do it, no one else is standing behind me to pick up the slack.

Love Betts

P.S. I've been craving corn relish on absolutely _anything_ you can spread it on this week.

* * *

 **25** **th** **April**

Dear Jughead,

I haven't had too much time to write in here lately...

Really, the only reason I have time today is because I was sent home sick from school after having a panic attack halfway through Biology.

I know what brought it on. After all, I've been so focused on school and finishing it that I haven't really thought about what comes next... _That's_ what's freaking me out. There is so ridiculously much stuff that comes _next_.

There's so much that I still need to think about and arrange for the baby. There's so much I need to do to prepare for him or her and to prepare _myself_... I have to start thinking about things and making decisions about things.

But, I think the scariest part is knowing that very soon I'm going to have to be prepared to start looking after someone else all the way to the same point of life where I am right _now_. It's like knowing that I'm about to jump on this terrifying, eighteen-year-long rollercoaster that I can't afford and that I'm so unequipped and unprepared for when I haven't even lived eighteen years of my _own_ life.

I really do just want the best for him or her, Jug. I want to _be_ the best thing for them.

Love Betts

* * *

 **10** **th** **May**

Dear Jughead,

Since my panic attack, I've asked Pop for more hours. I just want to get as much money behind me and the baby I as I can. Plus, I know times running out before my maternity leave starts. It's been rough with finals and exams coming up but fortunately the baby hasn't been letting me get too much sleep anyway. Burning the candles at both ends is turning out to be quite productive with the time that I'm spending having to get up to pee in the night and with the time I'm struggling to get comfortable with heartburn.

I've been reading a lot lately, too. A lot of the earlier books I was reading gave more of an idealistic, white-picket-fence-family view to pregnancy and babies but I've found a few more books and authors that feel more real and just a little bit less utterly terrifying. Like school, it's almost like I'm trying to read as much as I can and prepare myself as much as I can, but at the end of the day, I really have no idea what the test is going to be about. In fact, I have even less idea of what it's going to take with a little person than I do with a test on psychology or Pythagoras theorem.

Part of the problem is that the more I read and research, the more daunted I actually feel. But, by the same token, I couldn't just wing it and hope for the best because I know myself well enough to know that I'd blame myself for being unprepared with every little mistake I make... Honestly, _everything_ is just terrifying.

I'm still very stuck on a name, too. Every day Veronica alternates between badgering me about what boys names I have picked and then the next day she asks about what girls names I have picked.

Hey, do you remember that doll I had when I was, like, four that was just called 'Baby'? Do you think that could work? If only it was that easy...

Oh, and fun fact, I can't actually see my feet anymore.

Love Betts

* * *

 **21** **st** **May**

Dear Jughead,

I don't know if I can do this...

The fact that I want to raise our baby has been one of the only things that I've felt certain of throughout my pregnancy. Right from just about the very beginning, the fact that I thought that having this baby and raising him or her was the right thing and the best thing was just about the only like I felt sure of. But, I'm not so sure of that anymore... I'm not so sure of that at all.

I can't raise a baby.

Sure, I might be able to handle nappies and sleepless nights, but I can't _raise_ this baby and help them to develop all the qualities they should have and all the skills they need to get by and succeed in life. I can't give him or her the safe and secure family life that they deserve. I can't give them the life they deserve, the life I want them to have. I can't even give them a place to live. I'm going to have to take our baby home from the hospital and right back to my own childhood room.

I can't do this, Jughead. I can't do this do to our child.

I'm not enough.

I think I'm going to give up the baby...

* * *

 **23** **rd** **May**

Dear Jughead,

Sorry for the last entry... _Who am I apologising to?_ The Jughead I'm writing to is just a figment of my imagination in my diary, after all. A bit like a coping mechanism. It's like I'm talking to someone about my deepest and darkest thoughts without actually speaking to anyone at all. Really, I think this is basically just a diary that I'm directing to _you_ instead of to the diary itself...

Anyway, the last couple of days have been pretty tough and I very seriously considered the idea of adoption after the baby's born. But, I just couldn't.

It's actually been _mum_ who's been talking me through things and helping me to readjust my thinking; to see the light at the end of the tunnel that I was so desperately needing to see. She talked to me about how it felt giving up Chic and her subsequent guilt. She's told me all about what she'd give to go back and make a different decision and everything she'd go back and facilitate if it meant being able to raise him. Besides, look where 'the white picket fence' and giving him up for a 'better life' got him...

I know bubs and I will have support. We have our friends, my family and your dad. Also, on behalf of her and dad, mum has offered to loan me as much as I need to get through the first few years. Our baby is worth being indebted to my parents until I retire.

Anyway, I know how big the leap of faith that I'm going to have to take is. I just hope that I've done enough to prepare for and to be able to care for the baby and knowing how much is riding on that _terrifies_ me, but I just don't think I could do anything other than that. I don't think I could live with the alternative. For all my doubts and uncertainties I just keep coming back to the fact that this is _our_ baby.

I can't do anything other than raise our baby.

Love Betts

P.S. Olives have been the latest craving.

* * *

 **30** **th** **May**

Dear Jughead,

Veronica hosted my baby shower today. She did such a lovely job... It was all very lavish, very pampering, very over-the-top, very Veronica.

It was really, really lovely... People were so generous with their gifts and it was so nice to feel like there was such a positive spirit around the idea of welcoming the baby for a change.

Something else that was incredibly moving was the fact that Veronica, Archie and Cheryl gave me a cheque that came from so many different people donating a little bit. It was so heartwarming to know that there is so many people behind us and supporting us even in our little, old small town. And that hasn't just been _today_. I'm grateful for all the little ways that different people have tried to help me out with my pregnancy or in the lead up to having the baby...

It was really, really nice to take a step back for a few hours, to celebrate and just enjoy the moment for a change.

But, basically as soon as the bunting came down, I returned to thinking about the big picture and how much bigger than a few party games and some gifts a baby is. But, the moment was nice was while it lasted.

Love Betts

P.S. I never realised that a baby needed _Gucci_. Unisex, of course. Honestly, I think bubs' little collection of clothes is already double the value of my entire wardrobe. I'd love to hear what you'd have to say about your child's high-end wardrobe...

* * *

 **13** **th** **June**

Dear Jughead,

Well I've graduated... You would have, too. _Where are you, Jug?_

It was nice -clichéd-, but nice. I lost count of how many times people teased and joked over whether or not I was going to reenact One Tree Hill and pull 'a Haley James-Scott' on graduation day. I think the hormones made me a little more emotional than I normally would have been but really the only people that I care about seeing as our paths all divide is Archie, V and Kev so I wasn't too fussed with all the goodbyes. I just wish I'd been able to tell myself that at the time seeing as I did go through quite a few tissues...

Archie won a few of the popularity awards, Veronica contested just about everyone who did win and a couple people told me I should have won. I'm not fussed. I don't know, my mind's been so heavily focused on the future and the baby that I've noticed that it's been becoming increasingly hard to relate to what's concerning my peers and other people our age. I'm already beginning to feel a world apart from everyone else, from Veronica, and for the first time in my life, from Archie too...

Love Betts

P.S. Had my last shift at _Pop's_ today before my maternity leave begins.

* * *

 **18** **th** **June**

Dear Jughead,

After the last eight-and-a-half months have rushed by as I tried to cram way too much into my life, now that everything's come to a grinding halt all of a sudden, time feels like it's barely ticking by. Now that it's over, I realise just how distracted school was keeping me. Then, when I wasn't at school or studying, I would be working as often as I could to accrue as much money as possible.

I thought that these last few weeks before the baby arrives would be a good chance to finally get a bit of rest and to refocus in the lead up to it but now that time is just dragging. I can barely sleep for more than a few hours at a time before the baby is pushing on my bladder or I get uncomfortable again and wake up.

Then, in all of the free time that I've just had to sit around like a ticking time bomb, I can't get my mind off of where everyone else is now; whether they're taking a gap year, moving on to college or just preparing to truly start their lives. It's like I'm stewing over the fact that every motivational speech and everyone's big dreams and aspirations that I was stuck hearing about at graduation last week just don't apply to me anymore and I'm stuck standing on the sidelines, watching on as everyone else lives their lives.

It just hurts. Feeling stuck... Feeling like a bystander...

Love Betts

* * *

 **27** **th** **June**

Dear Jughead,

Life sucks and I hate you for it.

At 39 weeks pregnant, now is _absolutely_ the perfect timing for Riverdale to have its first heatwave on record, right?

I better not go over my due date. I feel like I'll murder someone if I do.

Mind you, as much as I'm ready for this to be over, I'm getting pretty terrified of the idea of giving birth and even more petrified of the idea of being responsible for a little person after that.

I was expecting to get more and more accustomed to the idea of the baby but honestly the more time that goes by and the closer I get to that due date, the scarier this is all becoming...

Love Betts

* * *

 **2** **nd** **July**

Dear Jughead,

We're parents. We have a baby girl. _The_ most beautiful little girl...

Bailey Juliet.

She is beautiful... She's so, absolutely, perfectly _beautiful_.

The jokes have already started about her inheriting my punctuality. She was born bang on her due date at 11:43 this morning and checked in at 7.1lb and 19 inches. She's all _ours_.

I hope our little Bailey will know you, someday. I hope you'll know _her_.

God, she's so perfect, Jug...

Love Betts

P.S. Her lungs work.

* * *

 **9** **th** **July**

Dear Jughead,

Our girl is one week today. I honestly cannot for the life of me believe that she's already been in the world for one whole week now.

Sleeping's been rough. She's lucky that she's so cute... She just about refuses to sleep whatsoever.

And there she goes _again_...

I'll write soon.

Love Betts

* * *

 **27** **th** **July**

Dear Jughead,

I honestly don't know if what I'm writing is even coherent.

I haven't slept for more than four hours at a time in over three weeks now.

Bailey's growing. She had a check-up yesterday and her doctor's pleased with how she's growing and putting on weight. Even compared to the photos from when she was born, I can see the difference in how much she's growing and filling out and in how healthy she's looking.

She's getting more and more alert, too. She's quite an inquisitive little baby; always on the lookout for whatever she can see or hear. But, hey, seeing as her parents fell in love through a murder investigation, Bailey never really did stand a chance, did she?

Bailey still doesn't sleep well… I feel like she's uncomfortable or in pain. I've mentioned it to the midwife and I've taken her to the doctor about it, but neither could see any cause for concern. I don't know... I don't know if I'm overthinking it and getting myself worked up over nothing, but I just _feel_ like something's not right. I just don't know what to do. I'm trying my best to comfort Bailey and settle her, but I feel like I can't make her happy and stop her discomfort. _That_ is just the worst feeling in the world... It's like she's depending on me and I'm failing her.

I wish you were here, Jug. I wish you were here to see her. As hard as it has been so far since taking her home from the hospital, I wish you were here for all the little moments that make it all worth it...

Love Betts

* * *

 **31** **st** **July**

Dear Jughead,

Your dad met Bailey for the first time today... Seeing us was literally the very first thing he did after he was released. For all the disapproval and all the drama, it was so nice to feel such love after Bailey's birth, especially from him. I mean, my family love her, they do, but the love towards her and the number one priority that she was to your dad was just something else.

I know he made mistakes as a dad and I honestly don't know how trusting of him you'd be with Bailey if you were here to have a say and authority in her life, but I'm going to give him a chance with her. I honestly believe he's trying to be a damn good grandfather and I honestly believe that he's going to be... I could see it when I offered for him to hold her and before he eventually took her. I could see that he wanted to, that he _wants_ to, but that he's scared of falling short. He's scared of hurting her. I don't think he's got anything to worry about.

Oh, and remember Hot Dog? That enormous fluffy dog that didn't leave your side until you turned six? Your dad gave Hot Dog to Bailey. Not going to lie, the idea of _her_ carrying _your_ toy around melts my heart a bit ( _a lot_ ). I love that she's got something from you, or, well, something of yours. She's already got a _lot_ of other things from you...

On another note, I've got Bailey booked in for another doctor's appointment tomorrow to get another check-up and a second opinion. My mum's wondering if it's her ears that are bothering her... Hopefully we'll get some answers. Hopefully she won't be in so much pain like she seems to be. It's heartbreaking. She's usually so content and placid but I can just tell when she's getting uncomfortable and hurting. I'm _sure_ of it...

Love Betts

* * *

 **10** **th** **August**

Dear Jughead,

I think I can honestly say that today was the worst day of my life.

I thought you were dead.

An unidentified body was found. Your dad was called and then your dad called me. He had to ID the body so I said I'd join him. Holding our daughter in that morgue I had to wait through the most painful minutes of my life as it honestly felt like the hospital walls were crumbling in around us.

All I could do was _wait_...

I just stood there and thought about how the hell you're supposed to raise a child to know that they're never going to meet their father. I agonised over the night you left and everything that happened in the lead up, leading up to that night. I analysed if there was anything more I could have said or done to stop you leaving that night; if there was absolutely _anything_ else I could have done if this is how it ended...

But, despite how I was feeling then and there, I had to be strong for our baby, in case I'm _it_ for her... I still am it for her. I might only ever _be_ it for her.

Honestly, though, do you know what the worst part of today is? I still have no guarantee that you're safe and you're okay. For all I know, you still might be gone and yet I don't even know it...

Please just come home. Please. Bailey needs you. _I_ need you...

Love Betts

* * *

 **18** **th** **August**

Dear Jughead,

I don't know what the purpose of these letters has been. Honestly, I think they're just selfish diary entries directed to you... I don't even know if they've helped...

I can feel myself and my strength wearing thin. As if seeing you in Bailey all day, every day isn't enough, these diary entries only remind me that _we're_ here and you're _not_.

I've mentioned being worried about Bailey a couple of times... Anyway, since the last time that I mentioned it, I took her to another doctor for a second opinion who then referred me onto a specialist. We've _finally_ just gotten the results back today... I was right about the fact that she's been hurting. I don't understand all of it completely and I'm reading up as much as I can. She has an acute case of something to do with the eustachian tube in her ears. Normally it should unblock itself but it hasn't. This is a part of the reason behind her earaches and her being in pain. Since it's been almost persistent since birth and her ear isn't doing what it should to clear it, she's probably going to need an operation otherwise there's the threat of it developing into something more serious which could damage her hearing damage as she gets older. She's needs that operation with money I _need_ , but money I don't have. I have to find a way.

I don't know how much longer I can do this... I need to focus on our baby girl instead of you.

Despite everything, I think I've been clinging onto the tiny little bit of hope that you'll turn up again as abruptly as you left, hoping that every set of footsteps I hear belongs to you.

* * *

 **30** **th** **August**

Dear Jughead,

I have to let you go, because you let me go.

Betts

* * *

Thumbing through, Jughead looks for any other pages filled with the handwriting that he knows so well; the handwriting he'd seen in pencil; etching letters and words for the very first times, the handwriting that he'd seen neatening over the years; developing loops and embellishing curls, all in order to reach the style of handwriting that he's spent the last hour or so reading.

But, nothing comes after it.

However, it's hardly surprising. After all, he could _feel_ the end coming _long_ before the last entry as each admission from the mother of his child became more harrowing and more intense than the previous one.

So, he takes a deep breath and he closes his girlfriend's diary as his heart pounds and his breathing shakes coarsely, sounding raspy and pained.

He can barely see through the cloud of guilt... In fact, he almost misses the simple sheet of folded paper that pokes through the pages as he places the book down, the loose page that doesn't seem to belong in the baby book.

He debates with even opening the piece of paper, uncertain of whether or not he can take anymore before he reaches his breaking point, before he snaps and before he breaks as four years of guilt press down on him. It all comes as a result of reading through the diary entries that he'd insisted on reading, after being written from the most raw and confronting perspective as he read through the vivid explanations of Betty's struggles and her pain that came a result of the situation that _he_ had left her in.

However, something within Jughead powers him to take the single piece of paper into his shaking hands and to unfold it, revealing the only page that is _not_ addressed to him, unlike the entirety of Betty's journal...

* * *

 **2** **nd** **July**

Bailey Juliet Jones,

Welcome to the world, my sweet little girl.

After spending the last nine months loving you, I am so glad to _finally_ meet you.

As soon as I got to hold you in my arms, the morning sickness, the loveliness that comes with carrying a baby, the labour pains and the feeling of how scared I've felt over the last nine months was all _absolutely_ worth it. _You're_ absolutely worth it.

Also, I'm already quite convinced that you are the most beautiful little person in world. I could barely even take my eyes off of you for long enough to write this letter.

But, I'll be honest with you, Bailey. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I've had my doubts over the last nine months. But, that's only ever been because I want the absolute best for you.

It looks like it's just going to be you and me for now... We are going to make such a great team, my girl. The odds are against us right now, but I promise you that I'm going to do absolutely everything I can to give you the life you deserve, to give you a home and to make sure that you always feel safe and loved, no matter what.

Now, there's something very important that I want you to know... Your dad is a _good_ man, Bailey. I hope that eventually you can come to know that yourself. But, if not, I promise that I'll tell you all about him when you're ready.

Your dad and I have been friends for so many years, almost as long as I have been friends with your Uncle Archie (he already adores you, by the way; in fact, I thought that I was going to have to kidnap you back from him!). Your dad was my friend for so much longer than he was my boyfriend. For as long as I can remember, I have had so much admiration for your dad and his strength for all that he has had to go through in his life, I've loved his sharp wit, I've loved his intelligence and I've loved your dad's fierce loyalty to the people he loves. I _know_ that you'd be on that list, Bailey. But, more than anything else, I love your father for giving me the best (but most unexpected) gift of all, because he gave me _you_.

I want your dad to be someone you are proud of, because you can be. I'm lucky that I could call your father my friend for so many years of my life and you're lucky that you can call him your father, Bailey.

I love you so much, my precious girl, forever, and with absolutely everything I have. I cannot wait for our life together.

I look forward to being there and seeing the little person that you'll grow up to be, Bailey Jones. And, even if it is just you and me, I promise you with all my heart that I'll always be here for you.

All the love in the world,  
Mum xoxox

* * *

With warm and salty tears brimming his eyes, Jughead places the journal spanning ten months of Betty's life down on his lap as he struggles to deal with the intake information that he has just spent the last hour pouring over and the guilt that has swept through him as a result.

After all, despite Betty's certainty otherwise, he'd insisted that reading her diary and seeing what life was like for her after he'd left her all those years ago was the best thing for _him_ and the best thing for _them_.

But, now he can barely breathe as he struggles with his guilt, his self-worth and his newfound, intimate knowledge of exactly what he had left Betty to deal with as she carried and had their daughter.

With the feeling of absolute guilt pulsing through him, his every instinct within is telling him to flee, telling him that he's only ever going to hurt them again and telling him what he doesn't want to believe but the fact that he can't convince himself of otherwise. Every part of him seems to be reverberating and echoing the idea that his girlfriend and their daughter are better off _without_ him, despite Betty's struggles that he's just finished reading of as she was forced to endure on her own...

Despite that and despite all of the headway that he's made both with his daughter and with Betty since rekindling their relationship, absolutely everything inside of Jughead is telling him to _run_ , just like he did before.

* * *

 **My goodness. That chapter came to 23 pages on a word document. Insane. However, the length kept growing and growing because it felt so bite-sized just having lots of little entries and I think I needed lots of little ones to span all that time and to execute the diary well and make the chapter seem substantial.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the glimpse into Betty's diary and her thoughts! Lots of little tidbits over her pregnancy and after she had Bailey along with lots of painful little thoughts and memories.**

 **I think second to maybe the chapter where Jug saw Bailey for the first time, I spent the longest amount of time on a single chapter of this story with this one. I honestly don't know how many hours I spent trying to get it right. I hope I did.**

 **I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter and all of Betty's musings. It made for a bit of a challenge to ensure that everything matched with the plot and everything that I've said in the past (i.e. the flashbacks to Betty telling her parents about her pregnancy) but then also including some new content and things which both you guys and Jughead had no idea about, like FP identifying a missing person.** **Making sure the timing was correct, evenly paced, chronological and stuck to the plot was a real pain in the butt, too.** **It made for a very different format to a usual chapter which made for a bit of fun to write, but I hope you all liked it!**

 **Next chapter: ****With the fallout from Betty's diary, Jughead has a decision to make and an opportunity to decide on.**


	48. The Choice

**CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT – The Choice**

After Betty had hesitantly given Jughead the diary that he had urged her to hand over to him, he had taken the dusky pink pregnancy journal that Veronica had given to her best friend all those years ago, early on in Betty's pregnancy, and he had poured all of his attention out into it as he read it cover to cover.

Though he's a fast reader, Jughead had spent almost two hours reading and analysing every little detail of Betty's diary as he sat there in his daughter's room. He read every single word of each and every diary entry that began just days after she learnt of her pregnancy to several weeks after Bailey's birth when her 'Dear Jughead's' that she detailed every little part of her life and her feelings ended abruptly with the final entry:

 _Dear Jughead,_

 _I have to let you go, because you let me go._

 _Betts_

Like the numbering pages towards a novels conclusion, Jughead _knew_ that the end was coming well before he reached it. He'd felt it, he'd sensed it and he'd just about seen it coming as he read of her struggles, her ongoing troubles to just make it through some of the hardest days of her life and he could just about _feel_ her strength wearing thin.

Then, for the longest time after he finished reading Betty's diary in Bailey's room, he just _sat_.

He sat there, taking it in and thinking it over, with his heart pounding and his insides churning at the feeling of guilt that was bubbling away within him like the pain of a twisting dagger.

From further in her home, Betty spent the entire time stopping herself from hovering in the doorway of her daughter's room; just like she checks on her daughter, only to be checking on her little girl's father this time. It takes _everything_ in her stop herself and to hold herself back from him, from checking on him and from hovering as he reads through the diary that she had been reading through herself earlier that day; the diary that detailed every explicit thought and feeling she had experienced throughout her pregnancy with their daughter.

Like he had tried to reassure her of, it _was_ the best way for Jughead to see exactly what she went through... It _was_ the best way for her to understand exactly what she had felt and to appreciate all the hardship that she had gone through at such a young age while she struggled to keep herself afloat as she prepared to have and raise their daughter when Betty was still just a kid _herself_.

However, like a two-edged sword, as effective as Betty's diary was to help Jughead see the entire scope of the world that he left Betty behind in and to truly understand her years without him, it came at the cost of being reminded of his role in the fact that she was in that position at all...

#

He feels stuck; he feels trapped...

He can't flee like he so desperately wants to without passing Betty and as he feels the pounding guilt within him, he feels like he can't escape from the walls that feel as though they're caving on him.

After all, as much as he wants to slip out without a trace, Jughead knows he can't without passing and alerting Betty in the process. But with his chest rising and falling with short and raspy breaths, he knows that he needs to get out of that small room and leave the small apartment that he's convinced is caving in on him with each and every painstaking second.

So, as he finally leaves his daughter's bedroom, Jughead makes a beeline for the front door of Betty's apartment, leaving the diary that Betty had handed him a few hours earlier on the bench as quietly as possible.

However, Jughead makes it just a fraction of the way to the front door before he is stopped by his girlfriend who rushes over to him, trying to take his hands into her own, despite the fact that he immediately shakes her grasp off.

"Juggie... Are you okay?"

Betty's face is filled with concern as she pulls her boyfriend into her arms which he quickly tries to wiggle out of. So, as she pulls away from the one-sided hug, she takes the side of Jughead's face into her hands, stroking his cheek tenderly and lovingly.

However, despite the question she has just asked him, Betty doesn't need to hear his answer to know _what_ the answer is. She can see it in his paling face, his reddened eyes, and the fact that he can't bring himself to look her in the eye.

"You shouldn't have read it, Jug..." Betty sighs, guiltily, blaming herself and biting her lip over her boyfriend's insistence to read all about her life and her struggles that she had detailed in such explicit detail over the course of her pregnancy.

Looking down to the ground, Jughead inhales a deep breath, taking a step back from his girlfriend and her loving touch, feeling so undeserving of that affection.

A frown forms across Betty's face and she takes another step closer, attempting to thwart his efforts to push her away, knowing that _despite_ his efforts and his cold body language, her boyfriend really needs her now more than ever.

"I didn't let you ready my diary to make you feel bad. I didn't want that... Please, **don't** feel bad. What happened, _happened_. But that's all in the past now, Jug. You know that we've worked through that..."

However, despite the softness of her words and the gentleness of her loving gaze, Jughead shakes his head, over and over, looking down and looking away from her as he takes steps back to further the distance between them, trying to fight the undeniable pull of the front door that his focus is fixed firmly on; the escape.

Reading that diary, reading over Betty's trials, her struggles and the way that she felt after he had left her pregnant with their daughter had been an enormous setback for Jughead.

He felt lower than he had in weeks or even months, yet recognising it as anything other than guilt. It was all a big step back and he could just about _feel_ the urging rise within him, feeling the call of flight as he reached the crossroads of the question of flight or fight.

"Jughead... Jug?" Betty murmurs, looking up to her boyfriend, imploring him to look at her, to speak to her, just _anything_. She can feel her own heart beginning to beat and pound within her at a growing pace.

She can see his fear and she can see his guilt, hurting her in the way that it is paining him.

So, she reaches out once again, trying to touch him or hold him; anything, really. Her own panic is growing at the guilt that seems to have knocked him for six.

But despite her pleas, he just shakes his head, inhaling a deep breath as he fails to hold back the tears that begin to spill and fall down his cheeks.

"I wasn't there for you, Betty. You needed me, Bailey needed a dad and I wasn't _there_... I abandoned you and our daughter, Betty. I don't deserve your forgiveness. I don't deserve this. I don't deserve any of this with you and Bailey. I'm only ever going to let you down again, just like I did before..."

Jughead's chest is rising and falling rapidly now and he's fighting against his heaving chest and his pulsing guilt. It's taking everything that he has in him to keep himself standing there and not turning away, heading for the front door of Betty and Bailey's home...

It's like a magnetic attraction and Betty can just about _see_ the invisible pull of Jughead's urge and the tug that -like a siren- is willing him to leave, to walk out and to face his guilt alone, away from the reminders of the girl that he willingly left and the girl he had no idea he had abandoned.

After all, in that moment, it has all come to a head...

 _All_ of it.

The guilt of leaving a beautiful girl dressed in silver on the steps of Riverdale High School as he ran off and ran away for four years...

The yearning that he'd felt for the girl that he loved -the girl back home- throughout all those years...

The heartbreak that had just about ripped his heart out from his chest when little clues all fell into place just as he'd been helping a little girl find her mother several months back, just when his distraught ex-girlfriend raced over to their daughter...

The life-shattering guilt of just _what_ he had left behind all those years and the sinking realisation of everything that he missed out on throughout his three-and-a-half year old daughter's life...

The grief of losing his friend without the chance to say goodbye; the man who had been his closest friend for the last four years, yet who hadn't even confided in him over his terminal illness...

The sting at discovering that she had moved on from him, then added to that the devastation that he'd felt while spending even just a few hours believing that she may have been carrying her ex-boyfriend's child _just_ after he'd gotten her back...

The bittersweet moment upon their friend's announcing that they are expecting a child of their own. Their friend's happiness selfishly paining Betty at seeing their best friend's enjoying what she never had and for Jughead himself it triggered the reminder of everything that he had missed out on with his own child...

But, now, finally Jughead Jones's tipping point ad come in the form of a diary that had detailed _exactly_ what the love of his life had been forced to endure after he had left her and unknowingly their daughter all those years ago...

The weight that has been mounting up over those past four years, the guilt and the pain that he's felt over those years -but never really dealt with- all comes to a head and it all comes crashing down on Jughead as he stands there, breaking down in front of his girlfriend, in the middle of her small home.

"I don't deserve either of you... I don't deserve a family. I'm only going to end up hurting you again and making things worse for you. I'm better off gone."

She can see that he's finally letting go of the thread that he'd been clutching onto for dear life for the longest time. She knows that _she_ needs to be the one to cling on to them in that moment; _for_ them.

So, Betty clutches onto his hands within hers, holding on for dear life..

"Don't say that. Do not let yourself go there. Because, if you walk out that door and if you leave us again, you _will_ hurt us, Jughead Jones. You will lose me forever and you will ruin any chance of being in Bailey's life. You will break your daughter's heart just like you broke mine. I know that you were hurting too back then, but don't make that choice again. Please _don't_."

She releases her grip on his hands before she reaches up, holding his head in her hands, clutching him and holding him tight as she continues clinging onto him with everything she has, trying desperately to get him to hold on, too.

"Jughead, you hurt me when you left and life wasn't easy for me; you saw that in my diary. I didn't deserve to be hurt that way and Bailey deserved to have her father for all that time. But, there was so much more to the reason you left, too... _You_ didn't deserve to feel that way. You never deserved what happened to you and your family. You never deserved the way your mother abandoned you and all of the times your dad let you down. You didn't deserve to live in a damn _cinema_. As soon as you let yourself start to go down that line of causation it only gets more and more complicated, Jug."

As her thumbs gently stroke his cheeks, back and forth, he can't even bear to look her in the eyes, glancing away. It takes everything he has in him to stop himself from pulling away from the love of his life, knowing that if he gives in to the pull of the door, leaving her and her apartment, he knows that it would be for the last time and that he wouldn't be welcomed back again.

So, he fights with everything he has to silence the echoing voice that's he's listened to for years. He tries to ignore the voice that is telling him to leave and to flee, fighting against the way it's telling him that he doesn't deserve this, that he doesn't deserve her and that he doesn't deserve them as Betty desperately fights to speak over the whispering fears in the back of his mind that are becoming harder and harder to ignore.

"We _both_ deserved more, Jughead. We can't change that. But, all that we can change is _now_... We both deserve this. We deserve our family. And, more than anything else, our daughter deserves _both_ of her parents."

Both Betty and Jughead are in tears as the emotions rise and the stakes heighten. She sniffles through her tears while Jughead's streak down his cheeks silently.

"Please Jughead... Please don't walk out that door... Please don't leave us again..."

She's begging him now. She's holding onto him and she's fighting with everything she has.

"Stay, Jughead. _Stay_."

Clinging onto the side of his face, stroking his damp cheek, Betty takes a deep breath as tears glisten from her green eyes that are fixed on watching him. Her lip is trembling as she clings onto him and she clings onto _them_ , knowing just how much is riding on her making it through and helping him to come out the other side of this.

"I love you, Jughead Jones. I love you too much to let you go. Please, just _stay_."

Love.

That one word has brought him so much fear and pain over his life.

He was the child that his mother left behind... He was the third wheel best friend who sat on the sidelines as he watched the girl he loved play second fiddle to absolutely any other girl in his other best friend's eyes... He was the sixteen-year-old who fell so deeply in love but could never allow himself to believe that he deserved it or her… He was the broken young boy who believed that his life was no longer worth living and that he wasn't loved enough to be missed...

He's shied away from believing that he deserves to be loved. He's restricted the number of people he's ever loved. He's preferred to be lonely than loved, simply out of fear of losing that love.

But, she loves _him_.

He loves her; he has for as long as he can remember.

And, they both love their daughter more than life itself.

So, finally, with the options of flight or fight both presented to him and both pulling him in different directions and with all the same choices open to him as on the night of homecoming four years ago, he finally decides...

He chooses her. He chooses to stay. He chooses to fight, rather than flee.

Jughead collapses into her touch and her hold that she'd been trying to keep on him as they crumble down together, into each other. They fall and they cry and they hold each other, clinging onto the other for dear life.

They face the moment, they face the pain and they face the trial, coming through it _together_...

It's like rewriting history.

#

From where she's sprawled out across his chest a little later that day, Betty exhales a deep sigh of contentment to which he presses a lingering kiss to the top of her hair.

They both feel emotionally exhausted and worn, but there's a sense of peace that accompanies that.

For both Betty and Jughead, it feels like they've made a breakthrough they so desperately needed. It's like they've _finally_ worked through four years of pain, blame, and guilt, and they've made it out the other side, together, feeling stronger for it.

"I don't think I've ever been more grateful for Bailey being babysat... How are you feeling now?" Betty murmurs in little more than a whisper, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of Jughead's face.

"Tired, a little drained, but _better_."

Betty gives him a small smile in response, reaching a hand up to stroke the side of his face.

"Me too... I feel like we've finally put everything behind us."

Jughead nods idly, though not out of agreement. However, Betty notes the way he flinches away from her glance, looking out and away at nothing, avoiding her emerald eyes that know him far better than to just believe that everything's okay.

"Jug?" Betty asks, watching him even more intently, waiting for him to speak up and explain the look and hesitance she reads on his face. She waits, watching him silently as he looks to her and then he looks away again with a sigh.

"I'm just sorry about earlier, Betty. I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm sorry for how close I came to walking out that door. I never, ever would have forgiven myself if I did.."

The weight of the world had seemed to be lifted from his shoulders after the breakdown that Betty's diary had triggered within Jughead, ending in the two of them collapsing into each other and holding one another as they crumbled together, preparing them for a fresh start and to rebuild things together. However, Jughead still clung onto the guilt of earlier that day, knowing how close he had come and how strong the urge to flee had been.

Although she had been so fearful at seeing the intensity of the internal struggle within Jughead, Betty's face softens and her green eyes grow even kinder as she looks up to him, stroking the side of his face lovingly.

"That's already behind us, too, Jug. You had a choice to make. I could see how much you were fighting against your instincts to leave. But, you made the right decision this time... You _chose_ to stay."

With a deep, thoughtful sigh, Jughead tries to exhale and expel the guilt within him as he does the air in his lungs. She hears the depth of the sigh that he has just released, panging her heart in the process. So, she glances away as she continues to stroke his cheek with her thumb, gently stroking back and forth soothingly.

"I'm sorry if letting you read my diary was the wrong thing to do... I never intended for it to trigger you the way it did."

Jughead nods, leaning down to press a gentle kiss of reassurance to the top of Betty's golden locks that their daughter has inherited, too.

"I _wanted_ to read it, Betts, and if I'm completely honest, I think I will always carry some degree of guilt over the way I left you -and in turn, Bailey- for as long as I live. But, reading your diary, knowing everything you went through and everything you felt _helps_. I had to face it. I had to know all of that. It hurt, but I honestly I don't think we could have gone forward if we –and especially _me_ \- kept pushing the guilt and the blame and the pain to the side. Sometimes you have to make it through the worst to make it out the other side."

Betty nods listening to him with a kindness in her eyes as she strokes his cheek tenderly and lovingly with her thumb.

"I'm glad... I don't know why my diary took the form that it did. I don't know why I was writing it all and directing everything I was writing about to you. But, the one thing I do know is that I wished you were there for all of it; everything I was writing about..."

This time, it's Jughead who nods as he presses another gentle kiss to the top of her hair before his hand runs through her locks tenderly.

"I know, Betts. Me too..."

A strong and genuine smile begins to spread across Betty's face as she looks up to her boyfriend, leaning up to press a firm kiss of confidence to his lips.

"But it's okay, Jug... You love me, or, at least I _think_ you do... I love you so, _so_ incredibly much, and I have for a long time now. And, we both love our beautiful baby girl... Both of us have had to contend with so much pain throughout our lives. The guilt, the blame and the line of causation _can_ go so far back if we let it, but we need to let it go. I've forgiven you, but you need to forgive _yourself_. We need to start a fresh, from here, from today."

Jughead nods sombrely, pressing his forehead to his girlfriend's as he looks down at her, filled with awe over the determination and the grace of just one woman.

"A fresh start and a clean slate... I like the sound of that" Jughead begins, returning Betty's kiss as he presses another to her lips, before he remembers a remark she'd made just moments earlier, quickly wanting to clear it up.

"... And, for the record, just to clarify, I _do_ love you. I am so completely and utterly in love with you, Betty Cooper, and I have been for as long as I can remember. I'm sorry if I made you question that for even a moment today. I only ever doubted _myself_ and my own capabilities and whether I'm enough for you and Bailey."

"You are what we need, Jughead. You're more than enough. We love you. We want _you_... _You_ and nobody else..."

There's a sense of peace and at long last, healing.

It's as though they have worked through their individual guilt that they each carry and they've come to terms with the pain of knowing all too well that the past was not fair to either of them.

They've dealt with it and they've come out the other end, _together_.

* * *

 **Finally, there's some closure after years of his guilt and his pain. Being given the option again. I truly felt like it was something that they needed to go through in order to come out of and to truly make it through that challenge.**

 **In my eyes and from my perspective writing it, things take a bit of a fresh start from the next chapter on and there's going to be some new storylines (FP's getting one!) being introduced over the next few chapters, too.**

 **Thank you so much to WyldClaw,** **Riverdaleforever2020, Jessilou525, Marie King, Guest x2, MayScott, ginnyweasleyrules and PerfectlySquare3826 for leaving a review on the last chapter. I really appreciated the positive feedback on that one seeing as it was such a different chapter and I was really concerned about how well (or badly) I'd executed it, so thank you!**

 **Now, as I'm going overseas, I'll let you know that the next chapter won't be up for about another month, sorry!**

 **Next chapter:** **Thriving after the new path their relationship has taken, Betty and Jughead tell Bailey about their relationship, along with the Coopers, who have** _ **the**_ **most unexpected response.**


	49. Daughters

**CHAPTER FORTY NINE – Daughters**

Over the last week Jughead and Betty have been working through the aftermath of him reading her diary entries from the course of her pregnancy that had resulted in Jughead breaking down and crumbling with the guilt.

Every instinct that he'd listened to in the past, every instinct that told him to leave and to flee when the going gets tough had been in overdrive that night as he read through the full scope of Betty's world that he had left her in, reading through all her pain and her distress at not knowing how to track him down, along with her consequential struggle through her pregnancy.

However, they'd faced it. They'd faced their own pain and their own guilt. They'd come crumbling down that day through the intense emotions, but it had marked a new beginning and the fresh start that they have so desperately needed not only after four years but also since rekindling their relationship.

They felt like they'd been through the hell that they needed to work through and face, and yet they had made it out the other side _together_.

They felt closer than they ever have before... They felt better in themselves... They felt their scars that they've been carrying through four years of pain finally beginning to heal... And, they felt confident in their future, together.

It had been _just_ what they needed both individually and as a couple.

So, the weekend following their breakthrough, Jughead and Betty had decided to sit down with and try to explain their relationship to their three-and-a-half year old daughter that they share.

They'd begun with watching _Tangled_ with Bailey; one of her all-time favourites. Then, afterwards, Betty and Jughead stayed sitting down with their daughter to try and test her comprehension on the movie and to try and explain their relationship to her in a gentle manner.

"So, you know Rapunzel and Flynn Rider don't you, Bailey?" Betty begins, running a hand through her daughter's golden locks.

"Yep! 'Punzel's hair's _so_ pretty..."

Bailey grins as she looks up to her mother from where she is sprawled out across the two of them. The little girl is slouched comfortably against Betty with her head resting against her mother's chest while her legs are draped across her father's lap.

"Did you see how they started off as friends and _then_ they fell in love?" Betty probes as she looks down to her daughter then across to her boyfriend with a little smile, consequently missing the way that Bailey's face scrunches up at her mother's question.

"No, they _didn't_ like each other, mummy... Horsey didn't like him, too."

With Betty's attempts to explain their relationship being thwarted by their daughter, Jughead bites his lip, struggling to contain his laughter as Betty bumbles after Bailey's dispute.

" _Well_ they didn't like each other at the very beginning of the movie but they started helping each other and they became best friends. Then, they fell in love."

This time, Bailey nods in approval of her mother's recap with a solid: "Yep!"

Nodding along with her daughter, Betty gains a little more confidence this time and after receiving Bailey's approval and agreement on her retelling of the plot, she steers the discussion back in line to where she'd been trying to.

"Well, Bailey, you see Daddy's a bit like Flynn Rider and mummy's a bit like Rapunzel. Except we have always, always been friends. But, now we've fallen in love just like they did, too..."

Both Betty and Jughead look down to their three-year-old, watching her intently after Betty tries to explain their relationship to her as delicately as possible. Neither of them is too sure of how she will react or how much of it she will comprehend, but both of Bailey's parents are watching her like a hawk during the moments that pass after Betty's explanation. They are watching and waiting to see what she will say or do next...

"Okay."

That is all that comes from the little girl when Bailey finally speaks up, distractedly reaching out to touch and play with her mother's loose golden locks of hair.

Both Betty and Jughead remain sitting in silence, glancing to each other and then back to their daughter. They allow the silence to pass for a few moments, giving Bailey plenty of time to speak up if needed before Jughead takes a turn to ask her the next question.

"Do you have any questions about that, Bailey?"

As her bright blue eyes fly upwards to look at her father, Bailey just shakes her head in answer to his question.

Meanwhile, with her attention fixed firmly on her little girl as she watches her intently, Betty lowers her voice down to a gentle whisper as she strokes Bailey's cheek delicately and lovingly, looking to her daughter with concern.

"Bailey-girl? Are you okay?"

"Yep!" is the simple response that comes from the three-year-old as she looks up to her concerned mother with a little smile.

However as she treads very carefully with extra caution, Betty's eyes narrow on Bailey, watching her even more intently and examining the little girl that she knows so well. She doesn't want to brush over it if Bailey is hesitant to speak up and she wants to reassure her of any concerns that she may have come up with.

"Are you sure? It's only going to be a really little bit of a change but you are the most important thing to daddy and me, Bailey. We only want what's best for you, okay? So, are you sure you're okay, sweetie?"

In her loving concern, Betty fails to note the fact that _she_ seems to be far more concerned about the issue than her daughter is through her innocent eyes where everything in the world is just that much simpler.

So, looking up to her mother with bright eyes and a smile, Bailey just gives Betty a reassuring nod in response.

"Yep! The boy in Tangled and 'Punzel were happy when they falled in love. Mummy and daddy can be happy, too!"

Bailey's answer instantaneously produces an enormous smile across Betty's face that leaves her in awe of her daughter's kindness after her caring answer that she returned to Betty. In amazement and wonder of the size of their daughter's heart and her care for them, Betty looks up to her boyfriend filled with pride.

Then, Betty leans down and presses a kiss to the top of Bailey's head, wrapping her in a tight cuddle as Jughead's arms too come around his girls, holding the two of them as Betty whispers into where she's just pressed a loving kiss to the top of her daughter's head.

"We love you so much, our little girl."

From within her parents arms as the three of them cuddle up together on the lounge, Bailey gives her mother's reassuring comment a little, unimpressed pout, suddenly trying to wiggle free from the embrace and squirm off the lounge.

"I'm a _big_ girl now" Bailey retorts with her hands on her hips, standing in front of the lounge that her parents are still cuddled up on after she had squirmed free and away from them.

Then, without another word, the little three-year-old goes racing off towards her bedroom, moving onto the next thing after the discussion that had her parents a whole lot more worked up than Bailey herself.

So, finding themselves with a moment of privacy, Jughead presses a kiss to Betty's temple with his arms still wrapped around her tightly as they had once been cuddled up on the lounge as a family of three.

"See, that wasn't so bad. A whole lot of fuss for nothing..."

With a little pout at Jughead's complacency, Betty glances up to him with her green eyes wide with interest.

"Seriously though, how do you think that went?"

Jughead's just about to speak up and reassure the young mother that it went well and reiterate that _they_ were approximately a million times more concerned about explaining their relationship to Bailey than Bailey herself was. However, before he has a chance to speak up, the three-year-old girl comes blazing back into the lounge room just as quickly as she had left it, standing in front of her parents on the lounge that the three of them had been sharing just minutes ago with a question coming to her mind after their explanation of their rekindled relationship to her.

"Daddy? Did you have to cut mummy's hair like the boy in _Tangled_ , too?"

#

The following day is FP's Friday to have Bailey.

Betty and Jughead had arranged in advance for his father to look after their daughter a little longer than usual, with the plan being to collect her just after dinner today, despite the fact that Betty only had a morning shift at _Pop's_ and Jughead would finish work at three with _The Riverdale Register_ always traditionally having an early minute on Friday afternoons.

They'd made the plans with Bailey's grandfather seeing as Jughead and Betty had set other arrangements in place to have coffee with the three-year-olds other grandparents after work that day, planning to finally face up to and share the news of their rekindled relationship with the Cooper's.

After all, it has been growing difficult for the two of them to keep their relationship quiet now that Jughead is working for Betty parents at _The Riverdale Register_ , too, just as she does externally between caring for Bailey and her shifts at _Pop's_.

Consequently, it's been hard to remember to keep their hands very much to themselves on the frequent -and increasing- occasions that Betty's brought Bailey in to _The_ _Register_ to see her dad at work or on the occasions that she has had to either pick up from or bring in hard copies of her own work to the office. Too, Jughead has had to ensure that he keeps any love heart emojis and kisses on his phone away from his girlfriend's mother's eagle eye, _without_ raising any suspicion in doing so.

While both Betty and Jughead are terrified of her parents and the prospect of their disapproval over their relationship again, all in all, it's too hard to continue trying to hide it any longer.

After approaching the Cooper family home, the two stand inches apart on the other side of the door as Alice hauls it open after their second knock, revealing her daughter wearing a feigned smile and her newest employee standing beside her looking tense and uptight.

"Betty! Jug-head... Come in" Alice greets formally in a curt manner, closing the door behind the three of them after her guests walkthrough. "Come through to the living room. I've made tea."

Betty follows her mother's direction, trailing through her childhood home that she knows so well, guiding Jughead through behind her.

However, when the two of them reach the lounge room and the two double-seater lounges, the young couple share a panicked look, trying to determine what to do about the situation, seeing as the whole reason that they are paying her parents a visit is to tell them _about_ their relationship. But, neither of them want the appearance of the two of them cosying up on the lounge together to reveal their news to her parents before they have a chance to. In the end, though, Betty pats down on the seat beside her, figuring that if her parents know that the two of them made a baby together, they can sit beside each other on a lounge.

"So, you wanted to talk..." Alice prompts as she neatly takes a seat across from her daughter and newest employee, looking between the two of them, questioningly.

"Where's dad? He should hear this, too" Betty simply returns, looking to the empty seat beside her mother, receiving a little eyebrow raise and a pout in response.

Without another word, Alice gets up and walks off, bellowing out for her husband who surfaces a few minutes later, filling him in as he strolls across the room.

"The kids would like to _talk_ to us, Hal."

There seems to be a far greater insinuation in Alice's voice at one word in particular, to which Hal just nods, knowingly, his face growing more serious almost instantly as he takes a seat beside his wife.

Like ripping off a bandaid, Betty takes a deep breath, rubbing her moist hands up and down her pants, preparing to bypass any small talk and just cut to the chase. However, her mum speaks up first, with a frustrated eye-roll and a sigh of exasperation.

"Good God. Don't tell me you're pregnant again, Elizabeth..."

Instantly Jughead and Betty share a horrified wordless glance with each other, gawking at her mother's suggestion.

Then, as soon as she can recover from her shock, Betty speaks up and answers her mother's insinuation confidently.

All of a sudden, _just_ having to tell her parents that they are dating seems that much easier.

"I'm _not_ pregnant. Jughead and I are just here to tell you that we've been seeing each other... We're together again."

"And?"

Betty shoots her mother a questioning look, confused over her raised eyebrow.

"And, _what_? We're dating again..."

Looking at her daughter, Alice studies Betty closely like she's trying to read her, as if searching for anything else.

"Is that all?"

"Um, yes... Is there _supposed_ to be anything else?"

Betty looks at her mother questioningly, trying to work out what she seems to be missing out on and _why_ , to which she just receives an eye roll and a complacent wave of a hand from her mother.

"Oh, give us some credit... That's not _news_. We figured that part out a while back. We just weren't sure why we didn't deserve the common courtesy of being told about that. So, we assumed that your news must have had to be a little more substantial than _that_ for you to decide to finally tell us; something like a baby or that you're moving in together."

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you?" Betty replies, her response sounding a little incredulous, almost as though she's raising a question as she continues trying to keep up with her mother.

However, despite the unexpected reaction to their news, Jughead's view is still fixed firmly on the ground as he dodges both of Betty's parents gaze.

After all, Jughead _knows_ that he's not Hal Cooper's favourite person by any stretch of the imagination and only since offering him a job has Alice Cooper been able to speak to him without being snaky. He knows that they both blame him for leaving Betty to raise Bailey single-handedly for the first three years of her life. But, he can't blame them, though. After all, he blames himself, too.

Then, all of a sudden, after sitting through his wife and daughter's banter over the last few minutes, all of a sudden Hal gets up abruptly and begins to pace around the room.

"You're making a mistake, Betty. I respect Jughead as a writer but not as your boyfriend. How badly did that boy hurt you? How tough was life for you through your pregnancy and after you had Bailey? He skipped town without so much as breaking up with you, only to leave you in that mess."

Placing a reassuring hand on top of her boyfriend's, Betty doesn't so much as flinch as she looks up and looks her father in the eye, preparing to fight him on their news.

"Yes, he hurt me and the way he left broke me. But that is more complicated than it appears and besides that is between _us_. The fact of the matter is that we've both dealt with that and we're ready to move past that. Nobody else has the right to hold onto the past if _we're_ not."

The other three who are watching the middle-aged man storm around his lounge room can just about _see_ him huff. This time, Hal tries another tack, knowing his daughter's absolute dedication to her own daughter.

"This is going to end badly again, Betty... Think about Bailey, too."

"I _am_ thinking about my daughter. Again, what happened in the past is between Jughead and I. Since he's found out that she exists, Jughead has been nothing but an excellent father to Bailey. She shouldn't be deprived of a family just because of what transpired between us in the past."

Hal is just about to speak up again and dispute his daughter's argument, preparing to come from another angle when he is silenced by his wife who speaks up this time, looking over to the sheepish young boy on their lounge and then back to her husband.

"Give the boy a break, Hal! He did not know that she was pregnant. He never left with the intention of putting Betty in the situation she ended up in. Have you ever thought that we're crucifying him for something that he had no idea about when perhaps all he ever wanted was the best for Betty?"

Alice's explanation just about makes it sound as though she knows better without saying so. After all, she _does_ know better.

However, Alice's argument sends two pairs of eyes over in her direction as both Betty and Jughead gawk at their latest supporter who hasn't finished, turning back to both her daughter and then her newest employee and co-worker.

"Never mind him... Jug-head, Elizabeth, I support you."

#

While her parents are at her other grandparent's home, Bailey is thrilled to have spent the day with her beloved grandfather.

Their day began with taking Hot Dog on a walk to the park after breakfast along with a stop at the playground, followed by a game of schools. Bailey had gone down for a nap after their lunch of cheese toasties, leaving FP to tidy up after the three-year-old cyclone that had torn through the small trailer.

However, just moments after he has finally tucked her colouring book away neatly, there's a loud knock at the door. FP barely has a chance to race to the front door of his modest trailer before it begins to open, revealing the last person he'd expected to see on his doorstep as she invites herself in.

"Jellybean!"

The surprise on FP's face is instantaneous as he strides over to the other side of the room, wrapping his arms around his daughter who's done a fair bit of growing in the five years since he last saw her.

"Look at you, my girl! I can't believe how much you've grown... You've blossomed into such a beautiful young woman."

As FP examines his daughter, looking her over, he sees more of his son in her than he used to, seeing Jughead's grin reflected on his sisters face as she flourishes against her father's compliments and remarks.

Then, FP is sent into a flurry, wanting to offer her drinks, ask her questions and ensure that she knows that she's welcome to stay for as long as she wants.

However, FP quickly is halted from his greetings with his daughter as he catches the faint sobs from further within his small trailer, distracting him from his daughter's presence.

"What's that noise, dad?" Jellybean asks as her face scrunches up with confusion.

FP knows _exactly_ what that noise is, coming from Jughead's room. So, quickly holding a hand out and gesturing for his daughter to stay and not go anywhere, FP quickly heads down the hallway and into the small room where the noise is originating from to see his granddaughter sitting up in bed.

"Bailey had a bad dweam, grandpa..." the little girl murmurs softly through gentle whimpers, rubbing her damp eyes with her fists.

"Oh, come here sweetheart. It's okay... You're okay, Bailey..." FP coos as he scoops his granddaughter up and into his strong, protective arms as the three-year-old nestles her head against his shoulder, seeking the safety of her grandfather.

As he rubs the little girl's back and rocks her within his arms, he slowly gets up from where he'd sat down on the side of his son's bed in the room Jughead shares with his own daughter.

Then, he gets up and walks out to where JB has quickly made herself at home, grabbing herself a coke from where she's now seated on the lounge with her Dr Marten clad feet resting up on the second-hand coffee table as she channels surfs on the TV that is riddled with static.

However, Jellybean's attention is instantly pulled away from the screen as she hears the heavy footsteps coming down the hallway as FP returns to her, with Bailey in his arms.

Then, instantly upon catching sight of the three-year-old FP is carrying who has her head resting on his shoulder, along with a look of horror that floods the teenager's face with her eyes glued on the small child in her father's arms.

"No way, dad... Did you have another kid?"

* * *

 **I'm back! Sorry there was such a gap between chapters but I've spent almost the last month overseas in a bunch of different countries with little/no wifi. Anyway, I flew in this morning and wanted to get this one up as soon as possible to compensate. Thanks for your patience. After this, my chapters and updating will get much more frequent again.**

 **Also, big thanks to everyone who left a review on the last chapter. I haven't had a chance to read them before today :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, too, with Jellybean's appearance along with the Coopers and Miss Bailey being told about Betty and Jughead in two very different ways. I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter.**

 **Next chapter: Jellybean's return shakes up FP and Jughead's worlds.**


	50. The Prodigal Daughter

**CHAPTER FIFTY – The Prodigal Daughter**

Just days after she had finished school and turned eighteen, Jellybean Jones had exercised some of her newfound freedom from her mother by buying herself a bus ticket and leaving a note on the table for Gladys to discover when she'd arrive home from work that their small house had gone from two to one; reminiscent of the same way a household had gone from four to two several years earlier.

For years, Jellybean had asked about her father, her brother and the life that they had left behind in Riverdale when the final straw in FP and Gladys's marriage broke after FP had finally said 'sorry' one too many times.

Jellybean was too old to simply 'forget' about her now broken family that had once been whole. She was too old to just forget about her brother and her father who Gladys had driven her away from one Tuesday afternoon after collecting Jellybean from school early.

Consequently, the very first thing on the top of Jellybean's agenda after turning eighteen involves a ten hour bus ride and a trip to her hometown.

That was what led to Jellybean Jones turning up on the doorstep of her father's trailer one Friday afternoon after a half an hour walk from the bus terminal to the Sunnyside Trailer Park before quite literally inviting herself in.

However, the young girl did not have any idea of quite what she'd be facing on the other side of the door...

After all, upon seeing her father for the first time in almost seven years only for him to scurry off to the secondary bedroom down the hallway in response to a noise, only to return with a little girl in his arms, Jellybean Jones' jaw had _dropped_ in surprise.

"No way, dad... Did you have another kid?"

At his daughter's exclamation and the question that is seeming to upset her, FP just chuckles, looking to his granddaughter who has curled up in his arms and then back to his own daughter.

"No... One daughter is quite enough work. You actually have your brother to thank for this one here" FP chuckles, looking to his granddaughter with adoration as he re-adjusts his hold on her from where she is nestled into his neck, still a little upset after waking up to a bad dream. "This is Bailey, your niece..."

The relief on Jellybean's face is instantaneous. Even though she'd bracing for things to have changed in seven years, the prospect of no longer being her father's only little girl was a change that she hadn't quite been preparing herself for, struggling to come to terms with the idea.

However, blinded by her rush of relief, Jellybean didn't really stop to think about a few other factors including the fact that only _now_ is she being introduced to Jughead's daughter.

"Bailey, can you say 'hi' to your Aunty Jellybean?"

The usually bubbly little girl is unusually timid as she stays glued to FP's shoulder with dampened blue eyes and pink cheeks, clinging onto the comfort of her grandfather after waking up from a nightmare and to an unfamiliar face.

"Hi..." Bailey utters in little more than a whisper before she cowers back into the security of her grandfather.

Meanwhile, as soon as the fact that the little girl is no longer a threat or a competitor, Jellybean relaxes and takes a step closer to her father, crouching down a little to meet the three-year-old in the eye.

"Hi Bailey..." Jellybean begins, speaking to the little girl before her eyes return to her father and a smile floods her face as she continues speaking, this time directing her words of disbelief to FP.

"She's Jug's kid?! He's a _dad_?! She's beautiful... Hold up. Who's her mother?"

"Betty Cooper. Do you remember her? She lived next door to Archie and his family."

Instantly a wild grin spreads across the eighteen-year-olds face knowingly.

"Jughead Jones, what a dirty dog... _Of course_ I remember Betty. I always was convinced that he had a massive crush on her."

Then, all of a sudden, the smile quickly fades from Jellybean's face as it is replaced with a sombre sadness and a stab of pain as she looks up to her father, searching for an answer.

"Dad... Why didn't I know about Bailey? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

FP stammers at his daughter's question while Jellybean looks away as she inhales a sharp breath of air before taking a step back, heading for the door that she had entered through minutes earlier.

"This is a lot. I think I need some air... I'm just going to take a quick walk to clear my head."

However, Jellybean has barely had a chance to step away from her father, to step through the front door and to walk out from her father's trailer before she catches sight of the young couple that are talking together distractedly, their eyes locked on each other as they walk hand-in-hand across the trailer park and over to the one trailer in particular.

"Jughead?!" Jellybean utters in a low voice that is enough to catch her brother's attention despite the distance between them.

Instantly Jughead drops his hold on his girlfriend's hand, rushing over to his younger sister for the first time in seven years, wrapping his arms around her warmly as she does the same.

"Jellybean... JB..." he stammers, looking his sister up and down over and over again as he takes in all that has changed about her, not _just_ her name of choice. "What are you doing here?! It's so good to see you."

"I'm doing what has taken seven years too long. I'm back."

With another grin, Jughead wraps his arms around his younger sister yet again, expressing his delight at her presence in front of him, making the bus ticket she'd had to fork out for and the discomfort from the ten hour bus drive suddenly worth it.

" _So_ , I just met your _daughter_..." Jellybean smirks as she pulls away from her older brother's hug, looking between him and his girlfriend standing behind him discreetly. "She's beautiful guys... Congratulations. To the both of you."

After the couple share a proud little smile with each other at Jellybean's doting remarks over their little girl they share, Betty takes a few steps forward, opening her arms to her daughter's aunt after standing back and waiting to allow the brother and sister a few moments together to begin with.

"Thanks Jellybean... Welcome back."

After Jughead watches his sister and his girlfriend hug briefly until the two pull away, the walk that Jellybean needed seems to be forgotten about as she follows the couple who rejoin one another's sides and stroll towards the trailer together.

However, after the distraction of seeing her brother, the question that had been tormenting Jellybean prior to her walk, prompting her to need the fresh air and to escape from the trailer resurfaces once again within her. It's the question weighing down the pit of her stomach as they walk back inside and as she sees the little girl sitting down beside her father, being reminded of the fact that she had never known that the same little girl existed.

As the two young parents walk through the front door of the trailer they head straight for their daughter who's spent the day with her grandfather while they told Betty's parents about their relationship after work.

Meanwhile, Jellybean lingers behind and stands by the door watching the three-year-old hug her mum and her dad, struggling to comprehend the fact that her _brother_ is that girl's _dad_.

With his Bailey's attention being taken by her parents, FP too takes a step back and allows Betty and Jughead to greet their daughter and hear all about her day with him. However, noting his own daughter standing by the door and watching on a little sadly, he joins her at her side, looking to the teenager with concern.

"Big day, hey... Are you okay?"

As her big brown eyes that are so much like her father's look to him, Jellybean just shakes her head, taking a deep breath to maintain her composure as an overwhelming day and the unexpected meeting all take its toll in one hit.

"Why didn't I know about her? Why didn't anyone tell me? Tell me, dad..."

If she hadn't had such an overwhelming day after a long and uncomfortable trip, the young girl would have faced that question with anger and an indignant attitude, rather than the hurt and upset that she is instead.

Exhaling a deep sigh as he claps a hand on her shoulder, FP struggles to find the best and the right thing to say in answer to his daughter's question. After all, the _reason_ is her mother. However, he doesn't want to berate his estranged wife who Jellybean has spent the last seven years living with, nor does he want to lie to his daughter.

So, FP _takes_ a part of the truth and he _conceals_ a part of the truth, trying to focus on the best way to deliver an answer to Jellybean's question in that moment.

"Jughead has only known about Bailey for a little less than six months, too."

As her eyes fly up to her father, Jellybean's face is riddled with surprise and even _more_ questions that arise as a result of one half-answered one.

After all, she's jumping to assumptions over Betty and whether she'd kept their daughter from her brother and -if so- how have they been able to overcome that to become the couple that they quite clearly are now.

"Look, there's a lot to that story, Jellybean. Your brother and I both made mistakes while you were gone and those three have been the ones who have paid the highest price for those mistakes. You'll know the truth about it all, in time, but you're just going to have to trust that drip-feeding the whole story is what's best for now, okay?"

She is _not_ happy. She does not like the sound of being drip-fed information nor does she like the idea of being kept partially in the dark when there's a 'whole story'. FP can read his daughter's dissatisfaction in what he's telling him through her furrowed brows and the small scowl on her face.

However, one thing that FP has certainly learnt over the years is that the best thing for your kid isn't always the easiest.

It would be too much for his daughter to hear about his prison sentence and his series of poor decisions that sparked the beginning of the path that led to Jughead fleeing town all those years ago. Additionally, FP isn't even sure that Jughead would _want_ him to broadcast the reason why he left town without a trace all those years ago. Then, there's Jellybean's own mother's role in the matter and the fact that her turning Jughead down only acted as the straw that broke the camel's back, leading him to Oklahoma, along with the phone call Gladys had received from a pregnant Betty all those years ago that fourteen-year-old Jellybean had no idea of.

"Trust me, kid... I know you haven't had much reason to in the past, but I only want the best for you and I'm going to need you to trust me on that and that I know what that is."

#

After Betty and Jughead hugged their little girl and heard all about her day, the two young parents slowly seemed to grow aware of the tense discussion between the other father and daughter in that room and Jughead could have a pretty good guess over what the issue was about.

So, following her boyfriend's gaze and trying to determine what was going on through him, Betty jumped in and suggested the five of them go out for dinner at _Pop's_.

Dinner at the diner had been _just_ the distraction they all needed as Jellybean focused on her new niece, FP relaxed over what he was and wasn't going to tell his daughter and Betty enjoyed the peace she could see in her boyfriend with the tensions in his family seeming to relax and die down throughout the meal.

Sleeping arrangements had been discussed at dinner with both FP and Jughead volunteering their beds for their visitor. However, Betty insistently offered Bailey's room up, knowing her three-year-old would only be too happy for the excuse to get to bunk in and sleep in her mother's bed with her in what would just seem like one, big sleepover.

Then, after dinner, FP and Jellybean returned to his trailer to continue talking, with Jellybean failing to gain the answers that she has been growing desperate for, while the other little, dysfunctional family of three returned to Betty's apartment.

After Bailey had her night-time bath and picked her own pyjamas to wear, the three-year-old jumped into the haven of her mother's bed after picking her bedtime stories for tonight, requesting Jughead to be the one to read to her tonight as he and Betty join her on either side of her.

With the three of them snuggled up together on Betty's bed and with the little girl cushioned safe and warm between her parents, Bailey fell asleep in no time at all, not quite finishing the ending of ' _Madeline'_ before she conked out from she is snuggled up between the security of her parents.

Then, once Bailey fell asleep, Jughead and Betty tried staying there and they attempted whispering to each other in hushed, low voices with their daughter sleeping between them. However, after a few stirs and false alarms, they'd decided to relocate and move out to the lounge room, opting to cuddle up together on the lounge instead.

From where she's curled into him with her chin resting on his shoulder, tucked below her hand, Betty is watching him closely and studying him intently. She's memorizing every little freckle and detail on his skin, every point where his hair begins to curl a little and she's watching him intently to try to read every little expression on his face after what's been a big day for him.

"I think JB was pretty hurt not to know about Bailey..." Jughead remarks as he speaks up from out of nowhere, thinking out loud as he shares his thoughts with his girlfriend who just returns his sentiment with a nod.

"Well, your mother has a lot to answer for, Jug..."

Betty's remark silences Jughead as he exhales a heavy sigh at the mention of his mother and the reminder of all the pain that she'd dealt him, beginning with the day that she left town with one child and not the other.

After silence consumes them for another few moments, eventually Betty speaks up again in a soft, loving voice as she continues watching her boyfriend with complete concern after working up the courage to raise the question that's on her mind.

"How are you doing, babe? I know you're glad to see your sister again, but how are you _really_ doing? It's understandable if this is bringing stuff up for you, Jug..."

Inhaling a deep and shaky breath, Jughead can feel the way the vivid memories are churning his stomach and causing the pounding in his heart.

After all, turning back time to what had started as one normal Tuesday seven years ago, Jughead had been the first to notice that something was amiss that day.

He'd spent an hour waiting by the car park at school, waiting for his mother to pick him up after collecting Jellybean first, before he finally started his walk home after realising that they mustn't be coming for him today.

Then, as soon as he walked in the front door to his family's small home, he was met with an instant solitude and coldness that swept over him and he just _knew_.

He knew before he noticed that his sister's things had been cleared from the house completely.

He knew before he saw the note addressed to his father on the kitchen bench.

He knew before he saw the meaningless 'I love you' note on his bedside table.

He knew it all too well _before_ he saw the evidence that two less people would now be living in his family home.

However, he tells himself that he _should_ have known after hearing his parents fighting like they never had before through the paper-thin walls the night before. And, he tells himself he _should_ have known when he'd heard the sense of resignation in his mother's voice as they fought, rather than the usual anger in their routine slinging match...

"I'm so glad that she's here... It's so good to see her again. But, I have been reliving the last day that I saw her."

Betty exhales a pained sigh, hurting for him.

"God, I remember that day... You were fourteen. You called me to ask how to make a casserole."

Jughead just chuckles weakly over the situation that is so far from funny as he remembers his panic over _food_ in the moments following when his crumbling family had finally reached breaking point.

"The library was closed and I didn't have enough money for _Pops_... You asked me what was going on, told me not to worry and an hour later you walked over with a casserole dish in your arms."

"You and your dad told me to stay for dinner..." Betty adds as they relive that day through a match of verbal ping-pong.

As he turns to his girlfriend and looks at her guiltily, Jughead exhales a deeply pained sigh as he shares his guilt-ridden thoughts with her.

"I didn't want you to ever leave that night...You were always there for me, Betts. I should have been there for _you_."

Betty is quick to speak up and attempt to silence her boyfriend's guilt as quickly as she can, clutching his hands from within her own with a tight squeeze of reassurance with one hand as she shifts it from where it had been resting on his shoulder to touching the side of his face, stroking his features lovingly.

"Don't. Don't go there, Jughead. What your mum did was **not** okay. She _knowingly_ left you. _You_ had no idea about Bailey. Don't go there. Don't let yourself go there. You are _not_ the same."

Despite her reassurances, Jughead exhales another uptight and pained sigh. The guilt remains pulsing within him and he just allows the silence to linger between the two of them. After all, he appreciates her forgiveness and her attempts to dissolve his guilt but that guilt is something that he is always going to carry his guilt with him, he's sure of it.

Instead, after a few moments, Jughead tries to change the course of the conversation a little, shifting it away from his guilt but closer to the original topic of his sister.

"How was all of that seven years ago already? How's my little sister eighteen already?!"

Betty nods in agreement with Jughead, sharing his disbelief.

"I know... She was just a little kid back then and now she's a beautiful young woman."

Just as she had done moments ago, Jughead nods along with what she's telling him in agreement before he looks to her, studying her with shock as he makes the connection between his younger sister and his girlfriend who is sitting beside him, curled up into him.

"Hell... At Jellybean's age you were pregnant with Bailey..."

After seeing the way that his face is already paling, Betty presses a gentle kiss to his cheek as she nips her lip and shakes her head, knowing that the truth is only going to make it that little bit worse.

"No, actually... I fell pregnant while I was still sixteen... Bailey was already _born_ by the time that I was her age. In fact, just a couple months after I turned eighteen I had a one-year-old."

After recovering from his momentary shock as his stomach turns from within him, Jughead gapes at his girlfriend and the fact he struggles to wrap his head around, despite the solid evidence in the form of the little three-year-old that he'd just read to sleep only a room away.

" _Hell_. Surely we weren't _that_ young... I wouldn't have blamed your parents for ordering my execution. I'd want so much more than a guys head if someone got my daughter pregnant at sixteen."

"That was spoken like a true dad, Juggie."

However, despite her tease, Betty cannot help but nod at her boyfriend in agreement. After all, even though it was her reality at that age, she knows exactly what he means about the fact that the idea of having a one-year-old at that age that seems so wrong for someone so young.

"Isn't it funny how that works? It's like the rules never apply to you. You always feel so much older and wiser than your years until you're looking back at _yourself_. Hindsight, hey?"

* * *

 **I hope you all liked Jellybean's first proper chapter in this story. She's going to bring a bit of fun along with a secret or two of her own... Hopefully you'll all enjoy reading some of her upcoming moments with Jug, FP and Betty as much as I've enjoyed writing them. Also, while it won't be the focus of Jellybean's return from here, I hope you enjoyed the little moment between Jughead and Betty as they talked through and addressed the impact of his mother and sister leaving all those years ago.**

 **Thank you so much to: Rhiye, Riverdaleforever2020, Bughead4Life, Irianna Marie, Marie King, bugheadforlife, JMM316 and two lovely Guests for leaving a review on the last chapter. I'm always so grateful for everyone's feedback and opinions so thank you so much for taking the time to give me those glimpses into your thoughts as readers.**

 **Next chapter: Jellybean enlists herself as Jughead's wing-woman, steering him towards uncharted territory in his relationship with Betty.**


	51. Right?

**CHAPTER FIFTY ONE – Right?**

The morning following Jellybean's return to town, she eventually strolled out of her niece's bedroom close to midday to find Betty and Bailey who have already been carrying out their day as quietly as possible.

By the time that the raven-haired teenager finally gets up and walks through to the open-plan kitchen and living area with a yawn, Betty has moved onto making lunch while Bailey is preoccupied with colouring busily at the dining table.

Upon hearing footsteps, Bailey's head bolts up with a bright grin at the sight of her aunt trailing into the room, giving Jellybean an excited wave as she takes a seat beside her at the dining table.

In the day since the unfamiliar young girl turned up to her grandfather's trailer last night, the three-year-old has certainly warmed up to her aunty.

"Aunty Jeeb!"

While Bailey had been able to pronounce 'Jellybean', when her parents had encouraged her to call her 'Aunty JB', as per the eighteen-year-olds name of choice, Bailey hadn't been bothered with trying to enunciate the two letters which seemed like just too much work.

"Morning, sleeping beauty" Betty says, greeting her guest with a warm smile from where she's chopping up various ingredients and fillings for salad sandwiches. "Help yourself to whatever you can find if you feel like breakfast, but otherwise if you want to wait a few minutes, I'm just finishing up with making lunch."

Jellybean nods, getting up and ruffling Bailey's golden locks from beside her before accepting Betty's offer and joining her by the kitchen benches as she rifles through for something for breakfast, eventually settling on the box of _Coco Pop's_ that she find in the cupboards.

The rustling, the pouring of cereal and milk and the clinking of spoons and bowls eventually grabs the three-year-olds attention as she looks up with interest over what her aunt is doing.

"Mummy! Can I have some, too, please?!"

"No, Bailey. You've already had breakfast _and_ a banana. Your lunch will be ready very soon" Betty explains to her daughter sternly, biting her lip to hide her amusement at the look of disdain she receives from the three-year-old as she crosses her arms unhappily with a little pout. "Geez, you two girls both have the Jones appetite, too..."

Meanwhile, with the same amusement as Betty over her niece's sulking, Jellybean has to turn around and direct her attention to the fridge that she's standing in front of in order to stop herself from laughing out loud at the three-year-olds sassy little moment so as to not give the impression that her behaviour is entertaining them.

So, as she's studying Betty's fridge that is covered in photos ranging from the newest selfie of Betty, Jughead and Bailey which has been added proudly on her fridge, one photo in particular jumps out at the young girl.

"Hey Betty… Whose wedding were you in?" Jellybean asks, looking over the photo that has Betty as a maid-of-honour along with Bailey as the flower girl while they stand beside the woman that she doesn't recognise dressed in white.

However, as she looks at the other side of the photo, looking at the groomsmen Jellybean releases a little gasp of shock, answering her own question.

"No way! Is that Archie?! Is he married?!"

"Yeah... He married my other best friend Veronica a year ago. Veronica moved here about five years back. They'd been dating on-and-off since high school."

Nodding at Betty's explanation, the bold eighteen-year-old looks between her brother's girlfriend and the picture on the fridge.

"Huh, I always thought _you_ had a thing for him."

At her boyfriend's younger sister's probes, Betty's cheeks almost instantly flush with a slight pink wash of colour. Honestly, despite the fact that her crush on Archie had spanned such a long period of time, it feels like such ancient history that Betty completely forgets about the feelings she'd harboured for her best friend.

"Honestly, for the longest time, I did. But, that didn't work out the way I thought it would and I got burnt. Besides, things worked out better for both of us, anyway. We were always better as friends but I just had to learn that lesson the hard way."

Jellybean nods with interest, taking another scoop of cereal as she gives Betty a little smirk.

" _Well_ , if it's any consolation, my brother always had a thing for you. I could tell."

Once again, Jellybean's remark causes the flush of colour on Betty's cheeks which is accompanied by a shy smile.

"We got there eventually, but it just took me a little longer to realise the connection between us than it did for him."

The two girls share a smile before the younger of the two turns her attention back to the wedding photo on Betty's fridge, looking at it a little more wistfully this time.

"You know, I haven't been in a wedding before... I guess I'll have to wait until you and Jughead get married."

There's no suggestiveness or questioning in her tone; there's no 'if' about it. Rather, the certainty is a 'when'.

The certainty in the teenager's voice surprises Betty and she momentarily wonders if either she or her boyfriend have given his sister the wrong impression as to the stage of their recently rekindled relationship.

"Oh, we're not engaged, JB."

There's no surprise or embarrassment on the raven-haired-girl's face after Betty's comment as though she'd just gotten the wrong impression. In fact, she barely even flinches after Betty's clarification.

" _Yet_... But you will be. I was right about Jughead's crush, wasn't I?"

With a little smirk on her lips, Betty doesn't give her boyfriend's sister a response. Rather, she just looks away and turns her attention back to making lunch for the three of them. After all, she's not quite sure what to say to _that_.

Following the lack of response she receives from Betty after her tease, Jellybean returns to the seat beside her niece, watching her colour away passionately.

"So what are you girls up to today? My dad asked to meet up with me to have more of a chat, but I'm sure if something better came up I could get out of it."

Before Betty has a chance to respond with the fact that they're having a quiet day and might just go out for dinner with Jughead, her daughter beats her to it and jumps in with a question for her aunt first.

"Aunty Jeeb? Is daddy _your_ daddy, too?!" Bailey asks inquisitively with the mention of her dad being really the only thing that the three-year-old heard in what the teenager had said more so to Betty than she had to Bailey.

Nonetheless, Jellybean looks down to the younger girl, brushing away a strand of hair that is hanging in front of her face and tucks it behind her ear before she answers her niece patiently.

"No, sweetie. _Your_ daddy is _my_ big brother, Bailey. Then _my_ daddy is _your_ grandpa."

"Grandpa!" Bailey exclaims with a little grin solely just from the mention of one of her most favourite people. Then, the three-year-old continues speaking and conversing seriously with her aunt. "Uncle Archie's _my_ bru-va."

From where she'd been quietly preparing their lunch, Betty suddenly bursts out loud with laughter at hearing her daughter's serious remark during her conversation with her aunty, jumping in to correct her daughter kindly.

"No he's not, Bailey... Silly billy! You don't _have_ any brothers, sweetie."

With furrowed eyebrows and a little pout developing on her lips, Bailey looks across the room to her mother, confused over being corrected, given her sound reasoning.

"But Uncle Archie's a boy and he plays toys with me! That's what Peppa Pig said her bru-va George is!"

Seeing the seriousness on her daughter's face, Betty nips her lip and realises that she shouldn't find quite so much amusement in what is bringing her daughter some serious confusion.

"Uncle Archie _does_ play with you, but he's your _uncle_ , Bailey; not your brother."

With her face falling a little in the confusion of the moment and at feeling like she has gotten something wrong, Jellybean steps in, clutching her heart at her nieces innocence as she listens to the discussion between the mother and daughter duo as she looks to her brother's girlfriend.

"She is just way too cute!"

From where she's standing at the small island in the kitchen and looking over to the dining table where Jellybean and Bailey are sitting together, Betty finishes cutting up the sandwiches that she's been preparing, wearing a proud smile over the admiration over her daughter.

"Thanks JB. I'm not biased _at all_ but I've got to say that I agree with you completely."

As Betty dishes up lunch now that Jellybean has literally just finished her breakfast, she takes the plates of sandwiches that she's made over to the table just as there's a noise at the door and the delicate sound of a key meeting metal, followed by the door swinging open.

"Daddy!" Bailey exclaims with a little gasp, instantly jumping off her chair to race over to her father with arms open wide as he catches her and picks her up.

Jughead grins at the greeting, relishing in the feeling of his daughter's excitement upon seeing him. It never gets old.

"Hey Bay" he returns, pressing a kiss to the top of Bailey's loose curls, giving her a quick squeeze in his arms before placing her back down on the ground again.

"How are you girls?"

After putting Bailey down, Jughead walks across the room and over to his girlfriend. On the way over to Betty he ruffles his sister's own dark hair almost _exactly_ like Jellybean had done to Bailey a little earlier that morning. Then, reaching his destination, Jughead's hand falls to the small of Betty's back as they meet each other halfway for a quick peck, leaving her grinning at him.

"Trust you to show up _just_ as the food's ready, Jones."

Jughead just chuckles pressing another quick to her lips, before joining his sister, his daughter and most importantly the _food_ at his girlfriend's dining table.

"I've got your parents to thank for that one, Betts. Your mum was feeling uncharacteristically generous and let me have an early minute from work."

Saturday's were always usually a short day for the paper, anyway, and even on a normal Saturday they'd only work until midday. However, for whatever reason, Alice had given Jughead a ticket out and a free pass to leave work early today to which he just utilised to head straight over to Betty's.

"So what have the beautiful women in my life been up to while I was off slaving away?"

Betty just rolls her eyes at her boyfriend's dramatics as she joins the three of them at the table, taking her seat beside Jughead. Then, seeing as Jellybean's already stuffing her face with sandwiches, Bailey is the first to speak up and answer her father.

"Daddy! Aunty Jeeb sleep-ded in Bailey's bed last night so Bailey got to sleep in mummy's bed!"

Chuckling at his daughter's excitement while a little smirk forms on his lips, Jughead toys with the idea of uttering his response that he _knows_ will send him skating on thin ice.

"You have _no_ idea how jealous I am, Bay!"

From the seat beside him, Betty's mouth falls open in surprise as she sends an elbow into her boyfriend's rib.

"Jughead!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, Jellybean's face scrunches up with disgust as her sandwich drops to her plate. Then, after she turns up her nose with disdain, a smirk slowly rises from the ashes.

"I must say, I'm rather disgusted with your despicable behaviour, Forsythe. You speak like _that_ yet you still haven't even proposed to your woman... Speaking of, _why_ exactly haven't you? Growing old here..."

After the eighteen-year-olds prompts that are the polar opposite of discreet, both Jughead and Betty turn their attention to each other as they share a quick look with one another to gauge each others reactions. After all, both of them are far more concerned with the other person's response to the hint than they are about Jellybean's hint itself.

Then, seeing that neither of them is wide-eyed and heading for the door, they both relax a little, sharing a little grin and an eye roll to counter Jellybean's suggestions that are so far from subtle before Jughead turns to his sister, lightheartedly trying to banish her before she's even spent twenty-four hours in town.

"So, aren't you supposed to be hanging out with dad or something?"

#

With FP and Jellybean meeting up to spend the day together, it left the remainder of the day for the family of three to spend with each other.

Jughead and Betty had taken their daughter to a different playground on the outskirts of town, staying there until Bailey got bored of the equipment before the three of them went for a little walk on the nearby walking track.

After the outing, they'd stopped at _Pop's_ for dinner on the way where Jughead and Betty are currently curled up in a booth together, watching their daughter nearby as she plays around with the jukebox, picking song after song that leaves her father feeling very proud of his offsprings song selection.

With his legs completely entangled between hers, Jughead presses a lazy kiss to Betty's lips, grinning as he pulls away upon seeing their daughter dancing in the corner on her own behind them.

"We made one hell of a kid, Betty Cooper..."

Following his gaze over her shoulder to their three-year-old, Betty shares the smile on his face before looking back over to him and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I've spent the last four years thinking that, Jug... It's nice having someone else to be just as biased and doting as me."

Tearing her eyes away from her boyfriend, Betty looks back over to their daughter too just as the little three-year-old glances around, quickly noting both her parents looking in her direction and watching her. Upon taking note of her parent's attention, Bailey gives them a little grin from across the room, along with a small wave that both Betty and Jughead return, making their daughter giggle from across the room.

While the moment is sweet while it lasts, very quickly Bailey turns back around and has her attention stolen and once again snatched up by the jukebox that has been keeping her occupied as her parents canoodle in the nearby booth.

After losing Bailey's attention both Betty and Jughead turn their attention back to each other as Betty presses a quick kiss to his lips, grinning proudly at her boyfriend.

"We _did_ do a pretty great job... Didn't we?" Betty adds with a proud little grin that turns into a smirk. "But, hey, what can I say? She got it from her mama."

Betty's remark is supposed to be just a little tease as she smirks at her boyfriend with amusement. However, the look on Jughead's face is nothing but dead-serious as he fires back to his girlfriend with total conviction in his words.

"I have no question about it."

Betty sees this, seeing the seriousness in his eyes that _she_ hadn't displayed which brings a flush of colour to her cheeks before she reaches out and ever so gently strokes his own.

"Aw, I was joking about that, Juggie. She's actually so much like you. So, _so_ much..."

Holding his face within her hands, Jughead can't help but gaze into her enchanting green eyes, seeing for himself _exactly_ how earnest her words are.

However, despite seeing exactly how much she might mean those words, Jughead can't bring himself to agree with her and attribute all that they love in their daughter to himself. So, he tactfully changes the subject after a few moments, changing course of the conversation altogether

"So, how's it going with JB staying? Thanks again for letting her stay with you girls."

The quick change of subject doesn't go unnoticed by Betty who makes a note to find a way to revisit his dwindling self-confidence when an appropriate moment arises. However, she leaves it be for the minute, answering her boyfriend's question instead.

"It's going good... She's really been no trouble at all. Besides, JB's _family_..." Betty replies with a little glimmer of a smile both on her lips and in her eyes as she sends a little shrug Jughead's way. "It's actually been great fun having her stay with us. Bailey really loves having her there, too."

At hearing how smoothly things have been between the three most important women in his life and how they are getting along together, Jughead's chapped lips crack a little grin. However, the moment doesn't last long before Jughead's face falls just a little as he remembers what he had walked into earlier that morning.

"Look, Betts, I'm sorry about this morning... My sister has _no_ filter, whatsoever. And, in fact, I'm fairly certain that I left all of my self-confidence behind in our mother's womb for her to absorb."

With a little smile at his unnecessary apology for his sister indiscreet nudges as to why they aren't engaged yet, Betty runs her hands and down his arms, stroking them lovingly.

"It's okay, Jug. There's no need to apologise. I knew that she was just joking with us and messing around."

She can't quite pick the look on Jughead's face that instantly follows her comment. It's an expression that almost comes across as a little _pained_ as it flits across his face before fading away just as quickly as his facial expressions seem to become more controlled and calculated.

"Yeah... I mean us getting engaged would be just a joke, _right_?"

Still finding his expression a little hard to read _despite_ her seasoned knowledge of him results in Betty taking a few moments to pause and to watch him, analysing him before she answers his question.

"Of course it would be... _Right_?"

He is quick to begin nodding and Betty finds the expression on his face far easier to read this time around as he speaks up with the same word that has been bouncing back and forth between the two of them for a few minutes now.

"Right..."

However, this time, his single word seems to silence them as they pause; they look to each other and glance away again.

Then, after several minutes pass, Betty speaks up in little more than a whisper as she looks down, avoiding his gaze altogether as her eyes fall to her lap.

"You know, I don't think that the idea of us being engaged is the most obscene thing I've ever heard..."

While she is looking down, looking away and doing everything to keep her eyes from meeting his, Jughead can't tear his eyes off of her on the other hand as a little smile ripples across his lips.

" _Right_... You really think that?"

The tone of his voice says even more than his words do.

She can hear his disbelief. It's almost like a pure moment of childlike disbelief. And, Betty can't stop herself from smiling as she hears it in him, squeezing his hand from where hers is still tangled within his.

"Well, _I'm_ not planning on going anywhere and marriage is something that I've always seen in the future... Besides, seeing as we have a kid, I wouldn't have thought that the question of commitment is really a question for us anymore. Right?"

Once again and in one, single word, the tone of his voice triggers the smile that spreads across her face after she had put her feelings out on the line along with her view of the future. Now, Jughead has taken that vulnerability, eased it and backed her up all in one, resounding word.

" _Right_."

Then and there and without even realising it Jellybean's well-meaning teases had pushed her brother and his girlfriend to just very lightly touch on the idea that she had initiated. Consequently, they had tested the waters and felt each other out about the idea, establishing the fact that they're both okay, they're both on the same page and that neither of them are heading for the hills as they exchange a warm and sure smile with each other.

What follows is almost a silent resolve and an understanding between them as he just presses a loving kiss to her temple as she leans into him with her hands running up and down his thighs, finding their place of absolute comfort and security within each other, experiencing highs in their relationship together that they had never even known to be possible...

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked that one! This chapter's up a little sooner than expected but felt like getting the long weekend off to a good start! I'd love to know what you guys are thinking about JB and the discussion that she gave Bughead a little push to have a chat about... Let me know anything and everything you thought about that chapter. Your feedback and thoughts as readers is extremely useful to me! Your reviews are what keep me motivated to post and update sooner and faster. Big thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last one.**

 **Also, shameless plug but if anyone's interested in a bit more Bughead and you haven't already done so, you should totally go and take a look at my new story. It will be a collection of one-shots entitled 'We're Making It Through (I And You)'. The first one's up now.**

 **Next chapter: JB demands the tough answers from her father. Then, later she confides in Betty. **


	52. The Truth Hurts

**CHAPTER FIFTY TWO – The Truth Hurts**

After having lunch at Betty's apartment with Jughead and the girls, Jellybean made her way over to her father's trailer where he was ready and waiting for her, having made plans to spend the rest of the day with his long-lost daughter.

As soon as she arrived, Jellybean had noticed her father's motorbike out the front. However, she hadn't seen the two helmets on the table in the trailer until FP handed her one.

"Buckle up, kiddo."

#

With his daughter clutching onto him on the back, the Serpent leader drove the two of them out of town to a picnic area that Jellybean remembers vaguely from her childhood, recalling visiting the spot with her family.

While the younger girl is reminiscently looking around the area, her father is standing back, scratching his head sheepishly. After all, Jellybean is oblivious to her father's ulterior motives for their drive, concealing his hidden agenda that he doesn't know how to broach with her.

After securing his bike, the older serpent walks over to his daughter, laying a hand to her shoulder as he guides her over to the nearby bench that overlooks some of the best views surrounding Riverdale.

"We need to talk, Jellybean. You know how when you first arrived I told you that you'd find out more in time? I think the time has come to tell you a little more about what happened while you were gone..."

FP both starts and finishes speaking with a deep sigh, instantly setting off alarm bells for his daughter. However, she doesn't say a word, just watching her father intently from where he is sitting on the seat beside her as he runs a hand through his dark locks with yet another sigh, thinking of all the possible ways that he can say what he needs to say to her, trying to determine _which_ of those ways is best.

"Look, kiddo, things have changed a lot from the town that you and your mother left all those years ago. And, while I would wish that things didn't go the way that they did, in all honesty, your mother made the right decision to leave with you. She kept you safe."

"I don't believe that... I remember you being a fun dad - a _good_ dad. I've seen you with Bailey... Mum was wrong to leave. She just took me away from my brother and father."

There's an indignation and an insistence in the young Jones girl's eyes as her father just sighs painfully.

"I made my mistakes, my girl... I wasn't a good person. I wasn't a good husband. I wasn't a good father... I had to learn my lesson the damn hard way. I had to lose my family to realise just how tightly they need to be held onto... I think your mother and brother shielded you more than you realise."

Looking between her father and the scenic view in front of her, Jellybean just shakes her head almost out of disbelief, struggling to connect her father to the things that he is telling her, the things that she doesn't want to hear, nor believe, about him.

Then, with the moment and timing feeling right as she tries to make sense of the gaping difference between the father that her mother had taken her away from and the mortal man who is confessing to his weaknesses beside her, Jellybean raises the question that has been on her mind for over five years.

It's the question that she's been too afraid to ask.

"Why didn't you come back for me, dad? Why didn't you _try_?"

"I wanted to. God, Jellybean, I _wanted_ to... So many times I talked about getting the family back together. But, deep down, I couldn't bring myself to. I felt ashamed. I felt like your mother had made the right decision and as much as it killed me to lose the two of you, I felt like I deserved that. I felt like you _were_ better off without me."

FP can't bring himself to look his daughter in her own dark brown eyes. He can't bear to face her, riddled with shame.

Meanwhile, Jellybean cannot tear her own eyes _off_ of him. She can't tear her eyes away for even a moment as she tries to make sense of everything that she's missed and what could have possibly made her father the terrible person that he seems to believe he is.

"What happened, dad? Why did mum leave?"

Another deep breath of air fills FP's lungs before he releases the air in a sigh. After all, it's not easy to admit your own flaws and your own mistakes to someone else and it's even harder to do so to one of the people who is supposed to look up to you more than anyone else in the world.

"It started with my lifestyle... My drinking and the Serpents... Being an alcoholic and a gang leader was no way to be a family man. Your mother put up with a lot from me and I do respect her for what I made her endure. But, she had a breaking point. Like I said, I had to learn my lesson the hardest way and that still wasn't even enough."

FP still can't bear to face his daughter, his little girl, who had hoped would look up to him with admiration and pride in knowing that he is her father. But, instead, there he is unable to look her in the eye as she finally hears of her family's secrets and lies that have been building up over the last five years.

With yet another deep and a heavy breath, FP tries to continue speaking and explaining, giving his daughter the full scope of the life that she had left behind and the life that her mother had tried to shield her from by leaving town with one of her two children.

"Like I said, your mother reached her breaking point when she had taken all that she could from me and my behaviour. Our fights got worse and only became more and more frequent and instead of stepping up for and fighting for our family when I should have, I only drank more and turned to the Serpents. I won't try and make excuses for myself; I'm not proud of the man that I was. Even after you and your mother left, I didn't learn my lesson. I was a terrible father to Jughead... Not only did he lose his family, too, but he had to see me go from bad to worse. It got to the point that your brother chose to be homeless than live with me, just to give you an idea. He lived at a decrepit old cinema, at school for a time and then with Archie and his dad instead of with me."

While FP still can't bring himself to look his daughter in the eye from where she is sitting right beside him, he _can_ sense the way that she seems to physically shiver and tense up at the mention of her mother.

'Why me? Why _me_ and not Jug? How could a mother do that?"

In the silence, FP weighs up his options and not only what he could say next but also what impact that would have from this point on.

After all, the truth of the matter is that FP can neither understand nor respect the fact that his estranged wife had left one of their children behind as she fled with their other. However, despite his view on the matter, FP hadn't been planning to mention that to his daughter, wary of not bad-mouthing and seeming to try and turn away Jellybean from the parent that she had spent the last five years with.

So, torn in his indecision between his truthful view and the respectful option for Gladys, FP tries to find a medium somewhere between the two options, exhaling a sigh as he doesn't condone his wife's behaviour nor does he try to use it as leverage against her with their daughter and the question that she is seeking an honest answer to.

"I don't know, Jellybean... I honestly don't know the answer to that one, my girl. I can't answer that question for your mother."

While the young girl seems to accept her father's answer, she doesn't seem particularly pleased with either of her parents in that moment as she sighs, glancing away from her father before raising another question to him with an eye roll.

"Any _other_ skeletons that I should know about?"

Just when FP thought that his daughter's questions couldn't get any harder or any more invasive, he is proven wrong once again by the determined teenager who is reminding FP of her older brother in that moment.

Once again, FP pauses for a brief moment after her question, considering his options in replying to his daughter. He can choose some menial titbit that _would_ work as an answer to her question or he can be honest and tell her about the _other_ big skeleton in his closet.

FP chooses the latter.

"I did time."

Hearing the three words coming so bluntly from her father even sets Jellybean back a little as she gapes at him momentarily, trying to determine whether or not she had heard right.

"Why? What happened? Why did you do time?"

"Do you remember Jason Blossom? Redhead twin, about Jug's age? He was murdered at The Whyte Worm where the Serpents hang out about four years ago... I found his body. However, because I thought it would incriminate me more, I dealt with it rather than reporting it and then I was found out. Then, Jughead was threatened to blackmail me into confessing."

As if the disbelief in Jellybean's eyes isn't quite enough, FP doesn't stop there, continuing to speak and explain everything that his daughter missed out on and everything that he had been concerned about telling her in regards to the last five years in one big hit, like he's on a roll and he can't stop now.

"Now, jail and me being arrested is another story in itself... You know how I briefly mentioned the fact that Jughead has only just recently found out about Bailey, too? Well, to a degree, that actually comes back to me... You see, originally I was arrested for murder before the charges were dropped to a string of things relating to destruction of evidence, obstructing justice and perjury. But, when Jughead found out and when he heard that I'd been arrested, he left town that day without saying goodbye or even breaking up with Betty. He just left and dropped off the grid completely."

Processing this new information, Jellybean nods slowly over and over again as she listens to what her father is saying and the information he's giving her about his and her brother's last few years.

"And Jughead didn't know that Betty was pregnant with Bailey before he left, did he?"

"No, he didn't, that's right. Neither of them knew, it was too early. So, he left, he changed his number, he went by his real name and he started afresh. No one could track him down, including Betty, despite her best efforts. She spent _months_ trying to find him. So, as a result, Jughead only found out about Bailey when he returned to town of his own accord earlier this year."

Once again, JB nods over and over as she processes the overload of new information. Then, all of a sudden her expression changes as she is filled with a new pang of indignation and hurt as she looks to her father, looking for answers.

"Why wasn't I told about any of this? Jail? Bailey? Jughead leaving? Why wasn't I told about _any_ of it?!"

Running his hands through his dark, slicked back hair, FP doesn't quite know how to answer his daughter and her hurt over five years of secrecy.

"I'm sorry... I never told you about jail because I didn't want to ruin the very little respect you may have had left in me. You should have known about Jughead leaving but your mother and I felt that telling you that he was missing was only going to upset you and leave you concerned, too. But Bailey-"

Growing increasingly angry and hurt, JB quickly cuts FP off and fires more of her own questions to her father regarding her young niece who she had only found out _exists_ during the last few days.

"What _about_ her? What about Bailey, dad? Why didn't you tell me about my own niece? What about mum? Does she even know that she's a grandmother?!"

Another sigh passes through FP's lips as he weighs up his options in telling his daughter the truth of the matter or giving her the option to let sleeping dogs lie for her own sake.

"Don't worry. Just leave it, Jellybean."

However, almost as soon as the words have departed from his lips, the strong-willed young girl is firing back.

"Leave it?! Leave it for _more_ secrets and lies to accumulate?! Just leave it to keep me in the dark even more?!"

For the umpteenth time throughout their conversation, FP sighs as he finally lays eyes on his daughter, seeing all of her anger at having been kept in the dark over so much, along with her hurt that comes as a result of that.

However, if after everything that she's been told today, JB is _still_ looking for the truth rather than what she wants to hear, FP figures that she deserves that over protecting his estranged wife from her own decisions.

"Look, a few months into the pregnancy Betty told me and then she told your mother that she was pregnant with Jughead's child... Betty _wanted_ you to know that you were welcome to be involved in Bailey's life."

FP's words come as a new revelation to the young girl whose face is filled with even more shock, being followed closely behind by the sting of hurt that follows it as she clarifies the detail that has taken her by the greatest surprise so far today.

"Mum _knew_? She never told me... Why didn't she tell me?"

Jellybean's dark brown eyes slowly begin to fill with tears as she is hazed with hurt.

FP can't give his daughter the reason that she's seeking; he can't answer that question on Gladys's behalf because _he_ doesn't know the answer to Jellybean's question either.

However, what FP _does_ know is that he can see the impact that the truth is having on her. So, he opens his arms out to his only daughter, lovingly pulling her into him in order to try to support Jellybean in a different way seeing as he can't give her the answers she's looking for.

However, with a sniffle that she tries to conceal, Jellybean pulls out of and away from her father's arms, turning away from the comfort that he's trying to provide for her.

Then, feeling hurt and confused by both her parents along with the lies that they've told and the secrets they've kept, Jellybean gains a sudden streak of confidence, snapping at FP.

"No. _Don't_. You lied too, dad... I just want to get away from here and away from you. We are leaving right now and you are going to drop me off at the first cafe or bar or grocery store. I don't want to see you right now."

#

Despite FP's hesitations, he eventually abided by his daughter's angered demands to drop her off at the nearest shop or establishment to allow her to cool down and come to terms with everything that he had finally told her after he had taken her out to the spot by the lake; an excursion that had only resulted in even more hurt and confusion for Jellybean.

Upon realising that he couldn't fight his daughter's indignation, FP had surrendered and dropped her off at a cafe. However, while it might have seemed like the closest on their way home yet the local had intentionally passed several other spots within a few streets from the ride home. After all, while FP might have realised that he couldn't fight what JB had made up her mind about, he _could_ control _where_ he dropped her off.

So, FP had dropped her off at a reputable cafe in a safer area of town, only a twenty minute walk from Betty's apartment where JB's been staying, giving her very detailed instructions on how to walk to Betty's from the cafe, along with checking that she had his, Jughead's and Betty's numbers to reach them if needed before he left her sulking.

FP also gave Jughead and Betty a heads up about what he and JB had discussed and the fact that she had insisted on being dropped off to get away from him. Betty had returned his text with the reassurance that she would send him a quick message to let him know when JB arrived back to her apartment for his own peace of mind.

That time came at ten thirty that night, not long after Jughead had left his girlfriend's, headed for the trailer he shares with his dad after spending the evening alone with Betty seeing as Bailey had already been well and truly asleep for a good few hours.

When Jellybean snuck inside quietly, she hadn't anticipated that anyone would still be up. So, when the young girl is met with a "Hey JB" coming from the lounge room as she's ever-so quietly closing the front door, the teenager just about jumps in fright only to see Betty where she had been watching a movie on her own with a punnet of cookies-and-cream ice cream in her lap.

"Betty" JB gasps in fright, clutching her hand over her heart. "I didn't know whether you'd still be up and I didn't want to wake you."

"All good. Care to join me? I've got a spare spoon..."

With a little grin, Jellybean takes up Betty's offer as she holds a spare spoon out to her, patting the seat on the lounge beside her.

Sensing that her brother's sister may need to unwind and talk through what FP had informed her of earlier, Betty had planned to try and see if JB felt like having a chat to debrief, in addition to staying up to make sure that she had made it home safely.

"So how are you doing?"

"I'm okay... Dad had a bit of a chat to me - I'm sure you've already heard _all_ about it. Anyway, things picked up a bit after that..."

"Oh yeah?" Betty smiles as she takes a spoonful of ice-cream, watching her sister-in-law intently to catch the gossip. "Why do you say that?"

With a coy smile on her face, JB looks between the friendly blonde beside her and the carpet beneath her feet.

"Well, I was getting coffee on my own and then I, uh, I think I met someone... One coffee turned into another and then that turned into dinner."

With a grin filling her face as she nudges the younger girl beside her with a gentle elbow jab, Betty is quickly swept up with the gossip her boyfriend's sister is giving her.

"Wow, that's exciting! Who is it? What's their name? I might know them..."

Jellybean looks to Betty beside her with a coy wince as she nips at her lip uncomfortably.

"I don't want to say anything just yet. I mean this has all transpired in _one_ day. It might _just_ have been a nice day..."

While Betty can't argue with the younger girl's reasoning, she does attempt to push the boundaries just a little as she nods in acknowledgment.

"Not even a name?"

However, despite her attempts, she is quickly shot down nicely before JB tries to change the subject and move away from Betty pushing her for details about her last few hours.

" _Not_ even a name. Anyway, I'm sorry if I'm getting home too late for you."

Betty is quick to send a complacent wave of her hand in the younger girl's direction.

"Don't worry about it. I probably would have still been up, anyway. But, I _will_ say that Bailey was so upset that she had to go to sleep without saying goodnight to 'aunty Jeeb' first."

A little flicker of pride spreads across the eighteen-year-olds face at the mention of her niece whom she has only recently learnt even exists.

"That girl is such a sweetie..." JB begins, trailing off with a grin before she remembers something from earlier that day. "By the way, Betty, my dad told me that you told mum about Bailey and that you had tried to tell me way back, too... Thank you."

Putting her spoon into the punnet of ice-cream, Betty quickly reaches over to squeeze the younger girl's hand warmly.

"That's okay... You're Bailey's _aunty_. You had a right to know about her and to be a part of her life."

Despite Betty's kindness that she's extending and has attempted to extend to her across almost five years, JB is overcome by the reminder of her mother, sparking the bitterness that she's tried to escape from.

"Don't get me started on that... I'm irate with my mother. We had a big fight just before I left and things between us didn't end on a good note."

While JB had initially been overcome with negativity and focus on her mother and their fractured relationship, she is quick to try and move past that and steer back on track in her conversation with Betty.

"Even though I didn't know about her, I really appreciate that you _tried_ to tell me, anyway. I wish I did know... I would have loved to have been a more involved aunty for Bailey. My mum had no right to make that decision on my behalf."

With a sad smile, Betty just nods in agreement. She too doesn't have the best view of Gladys Jones after abandoning her son, choosing to ignore her granddaughter's existence and then deciding not to tell her daughter about her own niece. After all, Betty wants her daughter to grow up feeling loved and wanted by as many people as possible, including her aunty.

"I'm sorry you missed out JB, but from here on, you're more than welcome to spend time with her whenever you want."

Turning to the marginally older woman beside her, Jellybean gives Betty an appreciative smile.

"Thanks Betty. You are a really good mother..." JB says with a small smile.

However, as Jellybean trails off she pauses momentarily before changing the course of the conversation just a little to raise another question that's playing on her mind.

"Do you regret it at all? Having Bailey at your age? You were so young... Do you ever regret giving up _your_ life for someone else?"

Between scoops of cookies-and-cream ice-cream, Betty pauses for several seconds longer than what she needs to as she considers JB's question. Then, with greater conviction she gives her a definitive answer that she really _didn't_ need to ponder over.

"Don't get me wrong, every now and then I feel a little bit sad when I see my former classmates, my friends or other people who are my age and when I see what's happening in their lives with their careers or their studies. But, I absolutely do not regret having Bailey instead. Seeing as motherhood did happen for me when it did, I have never, ever wished that I went to college or whatever instead of having her. It's a feeling that's hard to describe, but Bailey and my relationship with her is just far more valuable to me. She's my little best friend. Don't get me wrong, there are some impossibly difficult days, but I honestly believe that Bailey is the best thing that ever happened to me."

As the younger girl listens to and considers everything that her brother's girlfriend is telling her, JB nods over and over again before she looks over to her with a bright expression and an honest thought.

"Well, I think you're _both_ the best things that have ever happened to my brother."

* * *

 **So JB finally knows the whole story. Over the next few chapters she will fill in more of the smaller blanks and hear more things from Jug, FP and Betty. But her mother?**

 **Hope you're all enjoying Jellybean so far. I was so apprehensive about adding her to the story but I have had so much fun writing her character.**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read and review the last chapter of the story. I'm so grateful for you all and your support.**

 **Next chapter: Betty unwittingly pushes Jughead away when ****Bailey gets sick. Spoiler alert: he doesn't let her.**


	53. Here For You

**CHAPTER FIFTY THREE – Here For You**

Betty's day started off at five o'clock that morning.

Seeing as her aunty had taken her room upon her return to town, Bailey has been bunking in with her mother over the last week. So, while the three-year-old had generally been sleeping better than usual over that time from the comfort of being with her mother, things change that morning when Bailey begins to stir, coughing as she wakes up and turns over to gently shake her mother's shoulder.

"Mummy?" the little girl whispers, as her mother's green eyes flicker open groggily. However, almost instantly Betty notes her daughter's nasally tone and scratchy voice. "Bailey hurts."

"Aw, baby... Come here sweetheart."

The young mother pushes herself to sit upright in bed against her bed-head, immediately opening her arms out to her daughter who finds comfort and solace within her mother's body; the best medicine in the world.

Then, holding her daughter against her within her arms, Betty presses a kiss to the top of her head as she alternates between rubbing her back and stroking the three-year-olds blonde locks that had grown wild and messy over the course of the night.

After establishing exactly what is wrong with her daughter and how she is feeling unwell in a whispered conversation so as to not wake Jughead's sister in the room across the hall, Betty presses a kiss to Bailey's hair and tells her that she'll be right back as she creeps out to find the children's cold medicine and her daughter's sippy cup.

Quietly creeping back into her bedroom as quickly as she can after hearing her little cough and whimper in pain while she was gone, Betty returns to her daughter's side in her own bed.

"Here you go, baby girl. Sit up and drink this... It'll help you to feel a little bit better, Bailey."

After handing her daughter the little cup of medicine, the three-year-old takes tiny sips from the cup until she hands it back over to her mother. Betty has since grabbed her iPad off the bedside table, bringing Netflix up as her sick little girl snuggles back into her side.

Once Betty has scrolled through the options to find a movie of her daughter's picking, she sets her iPad up on her lap as Bailey cuddles into her, coughing and sniffling painfully while she rubs her ear uncomfortably.

From where the two of them are cuddled up together on her bed, Betty strokes Bailey's hair with one hand and holds her within her arms with her other. She continues doing this for around an hour and a half, trying to settle her little girl and help her to fall asleep until Bailey finally drifts to sleep not long after the second movie starts.

After her daughter finally falls to sleep, it takes Betty another hour to drift back to sleep, too. Then, not long after she falls into a light sleep with Bailey still sleeping on her, Betty is woken from her slumber by the double vibration coming from her phone on her bedside table.

As soon as her eyes flicker open, she knows exactly who's messaging her given the time of day and the fact that both she and Bailey would normally be up by now.

 _Morning gorgeous. Remember to tell me if my sister staying with you is getting on your nerves xx_

Reading over the usual morning text from her boyfriend, Betty knows that he's likely getting up and preparing to spend the day at work with her parents. She types out a quick reply before silencing her phone and closing her eyes once again to try and catch a little more sleep before Bailey wakes up again for what is likely to shape up to be a difficult day for both of them.

 _Hey babe. You know she's fine and she's more than welcome for as long as she wants. But, you might want to steer clear and give coming over after work a miss for today. Bailey's sick and she's pretty miserable. Don't think either of us will be much company. Love you. Have a good day xo_

However, almost as soon as her eyes have closed, her phone vibrates once again with a quick reply from the concerned father of her child.

 _Aw, give her a big cuddle from me. Can I get you guys anything? Do you need me to pick anything up for her? I can ask your parents if I can get the day or even half the day off. If it's about Bailey they might understand. Love you both._

Taking a quick selfie of herself and their daughter fast asleep on her with her hands covering her ear painfully, Betty sends the photo. It would be beautiful, ethereal even, if it weren't for the visibly unwell little child whose face is creased in pain with a red nose and flushed cheeks as she holds her hurting ear.

 _Thanks for the offer, Juggie. She'll be okay. I've already given her some medicine. Think she just needs cuddles for now._

Betty writes to accompany the photo, typing up the brief little message between yawns before putting her phone back up on her bedside table.

Almost instantly, Jughead has fired a text back and her phone vibrates once again.

 _Check out my beautiful girls xx Even when our baby's sick. You're such a good mum, Betts._

This time she just holds the phone up to read it from where she'd put it on her bedside table, quickly sending a few kisses before putting it back down and cuddling up to her daughter who's sleeping on her to try and fall to sleep for herself...

#

While Betty had been hoping for a bit more sleep before she'd have to get up and face a difficult day of looking after Bailey while being forced to see her typically bright and bubbly little girl in pain, the young mother's wish didn't come true and just twenty minutes after her last message to Jughead, Bailey woke up by coughing, quickly waking Betty up in the process.

After reminding Bailey that her aunty was still fast asleep in the room across from theirs, Betty carried her daughter out to the lounge, tucking her in with a blanket and the morning kids shows while Betty sets out to prepare her breakfast.

In case she couldn't hear it in her voice and see it on her red cheeks and hazy eyes, Betty would know that her usually ravenous daughter was sick by the way that Bailey scrunched her face up at the idea of eating, with Betty only getting her to have a few spoonfuls of banana and porridge before she outright refused to touch it.

Then, after the failure that was breakfast, Betty spent the majority of the day seeing if Bailey was okay, checking her temperature, asking her whether she needed anything, changing the movie Bailey was watching and Googling her symptoms to try to distinguish whether or not she should take her to the doctor.

In the end, Betty called up and made Bailey an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, allowing a bit of time to pass and see whether or not she improved in that time.

A little later on, the girls had been joined by JB who left Bailey's bedroom closer to eleven that morning. As soon as she spoke up and before she'd barely even got 'good morning!' out, Betty was warning her about her little niece's sickness and germs.

At first, JB seemed completely unfazed by Betty's warning and the potential of her niece's germs. However, as soon as Betty mentioned the idea of spending the day out of the house and away from Bailey's germs, her boyfriend's younger sister seemed to take the offer up pretty quickly, leaving very shortly afterwards.

From there, Betty made jelly for her little girl who uncharacteristically didn't even feel like helping her mother. Then, aside from Bailey having a nap after eating barely any of her lunch, the two of them spent most of the day watching movie after movie, cuddled up with lemonade ice-blocks and blankets as the young mother looked after her sick little three-year-old.

Then, all of a sudden, just after five o'clock that day, there's the sound of keys in the front door which Betty doesn't even hear until she's walking out of her bedroom from where she'd just helped Bailey get dressed followed by blow-drying her wet hair after giving her a bath, hoping that freshening her up would help Bailey feel a little better.

Walking out of her bedroom, Betty is quick to realise that her boyfriend hasn't taken her up on her recommendation to avoid them like the plague. However, she does wish that he had given her _some_ warning of that.

After all, the last time she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, her ponytail was messy and hair was falling in every direction around her face. She knows that she has a white mark of porridge dried into her track pants which had dropped on her during Bailey's refusal to eat it. She isn't wearing a single scrap of makeup and she knows that if she ever needed it, today was one of those days given the large, dark circles under her eyes indicative of her restless morning.

"What are you doing here, Jug?" she asks as he presses a quick kiss to her lips before dropping another to the top of their daughter's head, rubbing Bailey's back from where she's cuddled up into her mother. "Bailey's probably still contagious and I don't think you should have to see me looking _this_ drop-dead-gorgeous for another few years."

Standing beside Betty, Jughead is running one hand up and down Betty's back in an attempt to soften her tightly furrowed brows, simultaneously rubbing Bailey's back soothingly.

"I want to help you. I want to help Bailey feel better. I want to be here, with my girls."

Jughead's reassurances seem to work on Betty and her eyebrows loosen as the smallest of smiles spreads across her lips. So, leaning over towards her as he continues to rub his girlfriend's and their daughter's back, a little glimmer sparkles in Jughead's eyes as he whispers in her ear.

"And, you are _still_ one hell of a drop-dead-gorgeous mumma, Betts."

If Jughead's original reassurances hadn't worked, her boyfriend's statement sure as hell seems to do the trick as a genuine smile blossoms on Betty's face, radiating in her eyes and on her lips.

However, the couple's little moment is cut short as their three-year-old speaks up from against Betty's shoulder for the very first time since her father arrived at her home.

Normally, the bright and bubbly little girl would race through the apartment and be by his side, with her arms out to bound into him for a hug before he'd barely even had a chance to get in the door. However, the change in greeting only tells Jughead how miserable she must be feeling.

"Hi daddy... Bailey's sick" she tells him softly. Her croaky little voice and the way that she says those four words alone seems to be painful enough for her to say breaks his heart.

"I know, Bay... I'm so sorry. Can daddy get you anything?"

Bailey just shakes her head with a little sniffle, before nestling a little deeper into the comfort of her mother's body.

As much as Bailey loves Jughead and as much as she adores her father, going off the fact that she hasn't so much as held her arms out for a cuddle for him, Jughead can _see_ that there's nothing that quite compares to a mother's touch, especially when you're sick.

#

Not long after arriving, Jughead had made a simple vegetable soup for the three of them. It's a soup that Doug had taught him to make a few years back when he didn't have enough money behind him to eat out daily, nor did he have the cooking skills to look after himself.

Unfortunately, poor Bailey had eaten a little more of the soup than she had of both her breakfast and lunch. However, seeing as she was up for a small serving of jelly, Betty was hoping that she was feeling just the _tiniest_ bit better.

Not long after dinner, Bailey had been put to bed, firstly asking for Jughead to read her a story then changing her mind and asking Betty to read her one too before Betty cuddled her and whispered the lullabies that she would sing to try and help daughter sleep as a baby.

Meanwhile, after reading Bailey her first story before Betty took over from him, Jughead went out and washed the dishes after their dinner of soup and garlic bread so that his girlfriend wouldn't have to fuss with it after the long day she's had.

A little while later, Betty finally appears from her bedroom, closing the door shut quietly before exhaling an exhausted little sigh.

"She's asleep."

Looking over his shoulder, Jughead smiles over in Betty's direction as she stops for just a moment before walking across the room and over to him. She stops just behind him, melting into his back as she wraps her arm around his abdomen, holding onto him as he smiles under her grip.

Jughead puts the dish towel that he'd been using to dry the dishes down, along with the clean bowl he'd just finished with before twisting around and turning to face his girlfriend as she sinks into his chest.

"You are such a good mother, Betty Cooper. Our daughter is the luckiest girl in the world."

The smallest of smiles spreads across Betty's lips at hearing the loving compliment coming from the father of her child as she blushes into his chest.

"I don't know about that, Jug... I'm just trying to give her everything that I can. I just want to raise her well. More than anything else I just want her to happy and safe and loved."

"Without doubt she is all of that... She _is_ happy, she _is_ safe and she _is_ loved. You can tell. Look, when she's feeling miserable all she wants is her mum... Our sweet, happy girl and her beautiful personality is such a reflection of and a testament to you and your efforts, Betty."

Betty can't hide the smile that he brings to her face and for just a few minutes she allows herself to believe him and to believe that she is doing okay, her greatest hope and all that she's ever wanted since she held a tiny baby girl in her arms after hours of exhaustion.

"Thank you, Jughead" she murmurs in a low whisper as she presses a lingering kiss to his cheek followed by another to his lips.

Just as the kiss deepens and their hands begin to roam each other from where they're standing with him pressed up to the kitchen bench their moment is interrupted when their daughter who has barely fallen to sleep begins coughing painfully from the next room over.

"I'll be right back. I have to check on her."

Betty quickly pushes herself off of her boyfriend and away from the bench as she creeps briskly over to her bedroom, ever so gently and ever so quietly opening the door and letting herself hover in the doorway to watch for any movement from her bed as Bailey groans and seems to rollover before settling back down again.

After standing and watching for a few minutes, satisfied that Bailey isn't waking up, Betty closes the door again just as quietly returning to her boyfriend's side at the bench where he's now pouring them both a much-needed glass of wine. Then, as she joins him, he sends a little glance her way as he asks her a question playing on his mind.

"Betts, can I stay the night? I can tell that you didn't get too much sleep. I want to help you out. I want to be here for both you and Bailey."

Though she sends him a grateful smile and claps a hand to his bicep, Betty shakes her head before answering him.

"You don't need to do that, babe. I can handle it. You have to work tomorrow."

"I know you can handle it – _that_ wasn't the question- but I do want to help you. Besides, I think I owe you quite a few sleepless nights..."

With a little glance of amusement, Betty looks over to her boyfriend, tipping her head towards him.

"Well, I can't argue with _that_... Of course you're welcome to stay. But, seeing as I can't kick our sick daughter out and your sister's in Bailey's bed, if you're okay with taking the lounge you're most welcome to it."

"After having lived in a decrepit cinema, a lounge is still living in the lap of luxury for me, Betts."

Noting the sympathetic look on his girlfriend's face, Jughead quickly pushes the conversation forward, hoping that her pity will be pushed aside along with it.

"So where's that sister of mine?"

"I'm not quite sure... She hurried off pretty quickly after I told her that Bailey was sick and that she might want to steer clear. She sure she seems to have found a way to occupy quite a few hours at a time."

Jughead shoots his girlfriend a questioning look as his eyebrows scrunch up and furrow.

"Doing what exactly, though?"

Betty just shrugs at her boyfriend's question. "I don't really know to be quite honest..."

As he nods solemnly, Jughead's eyebrows furrow a little more seriously as his girlfriend strokes a hand up and down his arm.

"I'm a little bit concerned. I'm worried that she's getting involved with the wrong crowd, otherwise why wouldn't she say anything about where she's going and what she's doing?"

"Give her a break, Jug... She's just a teenage girl. _Other_ teenage girls do silly things like getting themselves pregnant."

"My point _exactly_."

As a hand lands on her hip with her elbow jutting out, Betty raises her eyebrow at her boyfriend with an expression that is partnered with a little pout.

"What exactly are you saying about me, Jones? Because I _wonder_ who else had something to do with that...?"

With a smirk spreading across her lips, Betty wraps her arms around him as he can't wipe the smile off his face as he gazes down at her.

"That was _us_ though, Betts. Didn't you know that there's a double standard for what my girlfriend and my sister are allowed to do? Besides, my sister's only just returned to a small town filled with people she either wouldn't know or barely remembers."

The expression on Betty's face alters a little as she just shakes her head at her boyfriend and the double standards that he's applying to herself and his younger sister like a typical brother would before she then replies to him.

"Honestly, though, sleeping all hours of the day, returning home during the night and then mysteriously spending time on her own really just sounds like a _Jones_ thing, Juggie... Don't overthink it."

#

After Betty and Jughead both headed for bed at around eleven that night, they'd managed to fall asleep relatively quickly and catch a few hours of sleep before a coughing fit and soft cries of a little girl filled the apartment at three the following morning.

Betty had woken up almost as soon as Bailey had started coughing, patting and rubbing her chest as she offered her water and mentally calculated whether or not she was due for another dose of medicine or not.

After her coughing fit began to die down, Betty carried Bailey out to the kitchen where the three-year-olds cries then woke her father up who quickly rises from the lounge to join their side.

"Hey" Jughead whispers sleepily, looking to Betty before directing his next question to the three-year-old in her arms. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Rubbing her tender ears as she winces in pain, little Bailey shakes her head, coughing again before telling her father exactly the same thing that she had told her mother when she had first woken up that morning.

"Bailey hurts."

Two little words break both Betty and Jughead's hearts as they look to the unwell little girl who's nestled in her mother's arms and then to each other, sharing each other's pain upon seeing Bailey's.

"Oh sweetheart..." Jughead sighs, rubbing her back from where's she's cuddled into Betty. "Is there anything that daddy can do to help you feel better?"

Once again, the typically easy-going little girl just shakes her head before coughing yet again.

With one hand holding her daughter against her, Betty uses the other to reach a hand out to her boyfriend, tiredly.

"Go back to sleep, Juggie. I'm just going to give her another dose of medicine and then try to settle her back down for bed. You should try to sleep."

However, holding his hands out to Bailey, she follows his gesture, willingly being transferred from one of her parent's arms to the other without a second thought.

"You go and grab her medicine then _I'll_ settle her back down."

Betty knows Jughead has work tomorrow and she should at least _try_ to fight his insistence. However, after having broken and interrupted sleep since five the previous morning along with her boyfriend's determination, Betty caves in with an exhausted yawn. Finding the children's painkillers and cold medicine that she's been giving Bailey, Betty measures out the correct dosage, handing the tiny cup to her daughter from where she's now cuddling up to her father who has just put a movie of her choice in.

Then, as Betty wishes " _feel better, baby_ " before pressing a kiss to the top of her daughter's head along with a quick kiss to her boyfriend's lips, Jughead quickly snatches her hand up within his, rubbing circles into her hand to hold her in place as he gazes up to her lovingly.

"Go to bed, Betts. I've got this. I love you."

So, still a little hesitant Betty trails off to bed, too tired to fight it anymore, leaving the father and daughter to it.

"Do you need anything, Bay? Can daddy do anything to help you feel better?"

Jughead feels his little girl's head shake into his chest from where Bailey's head is tilted to the side while she watches the opening sequence of 'The Lion King'. So, with a little sigh he presses a kiss to the top of her head as he rubs comforting circles into Bailey's back, preparing himself for a long night ahead...

"I hope you feel better soon, sweetie… Daddy loves you so much, my baby girl."

#

The following morning, Betty is the first to wake up when she creeps out from her bedroom just before half past seven. Wrapping and tightening her dressing gown around her waist with a yawn, Betty is quick to make her way to Bailey to check on her.

Then, despite knowing the fact that it's a result of her daughter feeling miserable, the sight that Betty is met with as she walks out of her room melts her heart _completely_.

On the lounge where she had left the father and daughter last night, Betty is quick to note that they are still there, almost identically to how they had been just hours earlier. However, hours on, Betty sees that the two of them had fallen asleep to the movie Jughead had put on with his head slumped back against the back of the lounge while his arms protectively hold their daughter who is fast asleep from where she is lying against his chest, belly down first, cuddled into him.

After snapping a quick photo after clutching at her heart with awe over the sight in front of her, Betty slowly walks over to the lounge, collapsing down by her boyfriend's side.

She sits there, contently watching the sleeping father and daughter before her own eyes begin to flutter shut sleepily every now and then until a groan and some movement from the older Jones beside her makes her eyes fly open, waking her up.

"Morning daddy... How are you feeling this morning?"

"Sore" Jughead groans as he tries to stretch out to whatever extent he can without disturbing the sleeping three-year-old on him. "Sorry, I meant to carry her to your bed but I guess both of us crashed."

With a sympathetic little noise, Betty extends a hand out, stroking his cheek before pressing a brief kiss to his lips.

"I feel bad for _you_ , Jug... But, you are such an amazing dad for our girl."

Shrugging complacently, Jughead just runs a gentle hand through their daughter's golden locks.

"It's okay, it's nothing, really. I'm just being a _dad_..."

"I know, but you are a great one... _A_ dad would make sure their sick kid is being looked after. A _good_ dad would look after them and help them feel better. An _amazing_ dad is right there for them, risking themselves getting sick to look after their kid, holding their kid all through the night if it's helping them to sleep and feel better... Thank you for being an amazing dad to Bailey."

* * *

 **Poor Miss Bailey, but I hope you all enjoyed the bit of hurt/comfort, bit of sweetness and a whole lot of domesticity in this one. Just quietly, I actually think this one is one of my personal favourites.**

 **Guys, I am so grateful for each and every one of you that continues to support my writing and this story. However, shout out to Guest (I wish I could thank you personally!), Marie King, Guest x2, TheOneTrueBear and Bughead4Life for reviewing the last chapter.**

 **Next chapter: FP & JB gang up against Jughead, then we have an overdue B&V catch up, while Bailey isn't happy with her dad.**


	54. Stay

**CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR – Stay**

The morning began with three Joneses enjoying a banquet of breakfast at _Pop's._

FP and Jughead share a booth with their sister and daughter on the other side of the table who is flicking through the menu as she sends forkfuls of pancakes up to her mouth.

FP had arranged the breakfast with his children, additionally inviting along his granddaughter and her mother who is like a daughter to him, too. However, knowing how much time the three of them had spent with herself and Bailey, Betty appreciatively declined, telling FP that it would be nice for him to have some time alone with his kids and that she and Bailey would just catch up with them later on.

So, the three Joneses are sitting there, joking and teasing away like any old family; a far cry from the dysfunctional family they really are.

"Jughead!" JB bellows unhappily, shooting her brother an angered glance as she kicks his foot with her boot below the table before turning to her father. "Dad! He stole my last few fries! I was saving them!"

FP sends his son a filthy look, shaking his head at the antics between the siblings who sound like no time whatsoever has passed since the last time they shared a _Pop's_ brunch together.

"How old are you, boy? Leave your sister alone. Geez, your three-year-old is better behaved than _you_ are..."

Jughead just sniggers at his father's remark, knowing he's probably right. His daughter certainly _had_ inherited Betty Cooper's impeccable manners and her need-to-please.

" _Sorry_ JB, I thought you weren't eating them. You haven't touched your food in ages."

While the moody teenager is muttering " _well, you should have checked"_ under her breath with every ounce of attitude that she can muster up, FP looks between his children after his son's remark raises his eyebrow curiously.

"Your brother's right, Jellybean. You've barely touched your food. Where's your head at? Are you okay?"

A flicker of bewilderment spreads across the dark-haired girl's face for a moment before she seems to recover and focus on responding to her father with a shrug in his direction, along with a glare in Jughead's.

"I must just be sick of my brother's face..." she chimes back with a smirk, picking up and taking an enormous bite out of her burger as if to prove a point.

" _Wow_... Low blow" Jughead replies, elongating the first word as he sends her an unimpressed glare.

The feisty Jones girl simply shrugs once again leaving Jughead to shake his head at her. Then, after Jellybean takes another point-proving bite of her burger, she looks back to her older brother with a smirk filling her face.

"Now, enough about me, Juggie... Let's talk about _you_. So how come you haven't asked Betty to marry you yet?"

Just as Jellybean had turned to their father with a whine just minutes earlier, this time Jughead does the exact same as he turns to FP with the hopes of having his sister told off.

" _Dad_... You heard what she said."

"You're right, I did, and I want to hear the answer. She has a point, after all... That _is_ a valid question."

Feeling shell-shocked and ganged up on, Jughead looks between his father and younger sister in disbelief.

"Not that it is either of your business, but Betty and I have only been back together for a few short months. It's way too soon for that."

While FP just smirks at his son as he nods his head, the older man just reflects on his faith in the fact that the two of them will get there in their own time. Jellybean, on the other hand, is far less passive about Jughead's reply.

"Come on, Jug! You're already halfway there! You've already kick-started your family..."

Jellybean pauses for a moment, caught up in her own train of thought before she's filled with even more enthusiasm from her own thoughts.

"Oh! Kickstarter! If only I could Kickstart an engagement for you two, I totally would. You guys can have my pledge of support."

Scrunching his face up as his love-life and relationship seems to be going up as an item for auction, Jughead looks to his father for sympathy only to see him nodding along with what his younger sister is saying.

"Dad! You two can't pressure us to get engaged or me to propose to her."

"All I'm saying is that you two would have my -what's it called- _pledge_ , too..."

" _Dad_!"

#

As soon as they left _Pop's_ , Jughead left his father and his sister in order to spend the rest of the day with his girlfriend and daughter, immediately making his way over to Betty's apartment.

Not long after Jughead arrived, Betty asked him if he could play with their daughter and distract her outside just to give her long enough to quickly wash the floors; a job that is nearly impossible with an energetic three-year-old roaming around the house when it's just the two of them.

Jughead agreed instantly, always willing to do absolutely anything he could to make his girlfriend's life even that little bit easier for all that he feels like he owes her for.

So, Jughead had scooped Bailey up into his arms, 'flying' her outside with dramatic whooshes and turns as he carried the giggling three-year-old away from the floors and out to the small amount of lawn outside.

The time that Jughead had bought Betty by not having to juggle keeping their three-year-old still and distracted as she did cleaned the floors was worth its weight in gold in her eyes. In fact, Betty can't even remember the last time that she had managed to both vacuum _and_ mop the floor as she had after Jughead whisked their daughter outside.

However, as she waltzes outside to tell the dad-on-duty that they can come back inside whenever they want, Betty suddenly stops in her tracks upon finding her boyfriend and their little girl outside and lying down together on the small amount of lawn appointed to her apartment.

The father and daughter are laying side-by-side with Bailey resting her head on her father's arm as he directs that one and the other upwards pointing out different shapes in the clouds that he can see, helping her to follow his line of sight and see the clouds that he is.

"See it there, Bay? It's right up there, near the octopus we saw before."

Almost instantly after Jughead finishes describing the cloud that they are both now gazing at, Bailey releases a little of gasp of excitement, looking to her father with beaming eyes.

"I can see'd it, daddy! I can see'd it!"

Leaning against the doorframe, Betty clutches at her racing heart as she watches the father and daughter who are blissfully unaware of her presence. Betty can't bear to walk over and disturb the sight before her that is melting her heart from the ever-so-sweet interaction between the love of her life and their daughter.

As she stands there, she's watching Bailey look up to him with complete focus and interest, watching him intently with wonder as he shows her different shapes, while all of his focus is being poured out on their little girl.

"Oooh daddy do you see'd the big, big froggie. It's _there_!"

This time it's Bailey's turn to direct Jughead, using both hands to take her father's pointing hand into her own as she lifts it up in the approximate direction of where she has made her sighting.

"Oh _there_ " Jughead asks, pointing up at the sky with his daughter's direction, before looking to her for confirmation. "Is the frog near the flat cloud, Bailey? Is that it? Am I looking in the right spot?"

"That's it daddy! Well done."

Nodding enthusiastically with a wide smile on her face, Bailey lets go of her dad's hand, giving him a little pat of encouragement on his shoulder; no doubt a supportive little gesture that she'd picked up from Betty.

Witnessing the moment before her, seeing the bond between father and daughter and the absolute sweetness as they lay there cloud gazing together leaves Betty clutching at her heart in awe of her little family, unable to interrupt Jughead and Bailey's little moment as she stands there enjoying watching on from the sidelines...

#

During their breakfast at _Pop's_ , Jughead had told his father that he'd return home from being with the girls before dark. His dad had asked him to help him out with his bike seeing as FP would be relying on it after offering to loan his truck to a struggling Serpent who had no other way of getting himself to and from work. However, the bike needed a little bit of work done to it before his truck gets picked up that evening.

So, as Betty gets up to make a start on preparing dinner from where she's been colouring in activity books with her boyfriend and daughter, her movement acts as a reminder to Jughead or his commitment to his father. Looking up at the clock on the wall to read the time, Jughead's face falls as he does so, getting up and telling Bailey that he's just speaking to her mother before following Betty to the kitchen.

"I should head home... I promised my dad that I'd give him a hand with his bike before it got dark."

"Oh okay, no worries" Betty says with a nod as she ties her apron around her waist before walking over to give a kiss goodbye to her boyfriend. Jughead then gathers his keys, his wallet and checks that his phone is in his pocket as Betty calls out to their daughter.

"Bailey-girl, can you come and say goodbye to daddy?"

Moments later, Jughead and Betty's little girl strolls over from the lounge room where she'd been colouring in with a look of disappointment on her face that wasn't there just a few minutes ago.

"You're going?"

The two words that are spoken in little more than a whisper are enough to pang Jughead's heart like never before as hears the disappointment in his daughter's voice.

"Yeah, sweetheart, I have to. I promised Grandpa that I'd go home and help him."

At her father's words, Bailey's face falls and she takes small steps across the room towards her father, keeping her gaze fixed firmly down to the ground.

Jughead can tell that his daughter isn't the happiest with what he's just told her. So, he picks her up to give her a hug goodbye to which she just clings onto him, wrapping her little arms around his neck. However, it's only as he hears her little sniffle from where she's resting on his shoulder when he realises just how upset she is.

"Aw, Bay. Hey... It's okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

However, despite her father's attempts to comfort her as he holds her in his arms, beginning to rub his hands up and down her back reassuringly, the three-year-old just shakes her head as she sobs quietly.

"Noooo" she murmurs softly, sniffling into Jughead's flannelette shoulder as little tears stream down her face. "Don't go home, daddy... Bailey don't want you to go."

Knowing that he is the cause of his daughter's tears and her distress breaks Jughead's heart as he feels her clinging onto him desperately.

"I'm really sorry, sweetheart... I promised Grandpa that I'd help him. I promise I'll be back tomorrow."

"No, daddy, please... Stay here. Stay with Bailey."

From where she's watching the exchange closely just metres away, upon seeing the heartbreak on her boyfriend's face as their daughter cries into him, Betty quickly puts her knife down from where she had begun chopping tomatoes, walking over to join the two of them. Reaching her boyfriend's side, Betty opens her hands out to Jughead as she offers to take Bailey off of him to which he just shakes his head, declining her assistance.

Instead, beginning to rock her in his arms, Jughead continues to rub his hand up and down Bailey's little back in his desperate attempts to console her, comfort her and silence her tears as he whispers into her ear...

"I don't want to leave you _either_ , Bailey. But I have to go home and help Grandpa _and_ I have to give Hot Dog his dinner or he'll get very, very hungry. But, maybe one night you can come over and have a sleepover at Grandpa's house with me, Grandpa and Hot Dog. How does that sound?"

With a little smile as she listens to Jughead's negotiations with their daughter, Betty is quick to back him up.

"Yeah, sweetie... One night you can sleep over with daddy and Grandpa. And, after daddy gets home tonight, we might be able to call him and see him on my phone, okay? He might be able to say goodnight to you."

Just as she had done for his suggestion moments ago, Jughead too jumps in and supports Betty's offer to their upset daughter, confirming her suggestion.

"I definitely will, sweetheart, okay?"

Bailey's still upset, sniffling as tears trickle down her cheeks from where she's clinging onto her father desperately. However, she slowly nods at her parent's proposal and accepts the negotiation.

However, while an agreement seems to have been reached, Jughead _still_ feels the pain panging his heart. After all, the very love for his daughter that he is filled with is what is breaking his heart when he presses a single kiss to Bailey's golden locks as she cries in his arms at the fact that he has to leave, as he does most nights, which she is usually okay with.

"I love you so much, Bailey... I'm so sorry I have to go, sweetheart. But, do you think you can be a good girl for mummy and make sure Aunty Jellybean's good for me while I'm gone? Then you can tell me all about it when I see you again tomorrow. Daddy loves you so, so much, baby girl."

With another little sniffle and a nod from his little girl, Jughead gives her another big squeeze in his arms before hesitantly placing her down on the ground where she quickly scampers towards Betty and her open arms. Instantly her head goes sinking into the comfort of her mother's shoulder, sobbing into her from the moment she is picked up.

Then, as Jughead exhales a sigh from across the room at seeing his daughter's sorrow and while she's rubbing Bailey's back Betty shoots her boyfriend a sympathetic look, searching his eyes to gauge how he is feeling to which he just sends her a half-hearted, little, bittersweet smile.

Then with a quick peck to Betty's cheek followed by a small wave, Jughead's head sinks to the ground as he turns around and reaches for the door handle.

Betty makes a mental note to call and check in on her boyfriend a little later and make sure that he is doing okay after what could have been a rough few minutes of parenting, especially knowing that _he's_ the first person in line to blame himself...

#

After he finishes up working on the bike as quickly as he can, Jughead FaceTime's his daughter before she has to go to sleep, as promised. However, throughout the entire call Bailey keeps her arms tightly crossed along with a pout on her lips… Betty has to fight back her amusement from where she's holding the phone for the two of them as her boyfriend talks to their little girl and says his goodnights that Bailey begrudgingly returns.

Then, after a few goodnight's and a blown kiss goodnight between the father and daughter, Betty eventually ends the call, telling Jughead that she'll call him back in a few moments.

Tucking her phone into her pocket, Betty takes a seat on the side of her bed that her daughter has been bunking into as she pulls the covers a little further up, pressing a kiss to the top of Bailey's head.

"Are you okay now, sweetie?"

As her big blue eyes look up to her mother in the darkened room, Betty can see that Bailey still isn't happy.

"Why does daddy go away every time? Bailey doesn't like it."

Noticing the way that the three-year-olds eyebrows have creased into a frown, Betty has to nip at her lip to stop her smile of amusement, feeling like a terrible mother in the process.

"I'm sorry, baby..." Betty coos, brushing a loving hand through her daughter's golden locks. "He goes home because your daddy still lives with _his_ daddy. He lives with your grandpa and Hot Dog."

Bailey processes what her mother is explaining to her for a few moments before her pout tightens as her eyebrows furrow unhappily.

"But he's _my_ daddy. He stays with Bailey" the three-year-old retorts with a possessive pout.

This time Betty can't help the smallest smile that peeks through the corner of her lips as a result of her adoration for her daughter along with that little girl's love for her dad.

However, despite her amusement Betty is not quite sure what to say to that and what to tell her daughter as she strokes her hair soothingly. So, the young mother can't help but feel a little relieved when Bailey releases a sad little sigh as she collapses a little deeper into her pillow, speaking up with a little resolution.

"Grandpa needs a friend. He'd get sad if daddy's not there. Hot Doggy can't talk to grandpa."

Sitting there beside Bailey, Betty feels a burst of pride ripple through her once again at her daughter and her sense of care beyond her years that she has displayed time and time again, seeing the world and other peoples feeling despite her age.

"I'm so proud of you, baby" Betty smiles, leaning down to give her little girl a hug from where she's tucked into bed without disturbing her too much. "You are such a beautiful little girl, inside and out, and your daddy and I love you so, so much, Bailey."

While the young mother's commendation is a little beyond the three-year-old, Bailey still smiles proudly from the words and praise from where she's nestled into Betty's bed. After all, one day she'll understand.

Then, with a final cuddle and a single kiss that she presses to the top of her head, Betty wishes her daughter sweet dreams as she creeps towards the door, slowly closing it to leave just a slither of light to shine into the room for the little girl who isn't quite accustomed to the dark.

However, despite leaving Bailey to drift off to sleep, her little girl's words stay with Betty for a long after she leaves that room...

Almost instantly upon leaving her bedroom after settling their daughter down for bed, Betty returns her boyfriend's call.

"Well the teen years are going to be fun..." Jughead murmurs as soon as he answers Betty's call, jumping straight into their conversation.

Sometimes Betty feels like she has to stop and pinch herself to believe the fact that he is in their lives again, that she's finally navigating the craziness of parenthood with the love of her life by her side and that her little girl has her dad in her life.

Then, with a little chuckle as the vision of Bailey with her arms crosses and the pout on her lips flickers through her mind again.

"Bailey reminded me so much of her dad today... Moody, brooding and looking pretty damn cute in the process... _Thankfully_ she doesn't have many days like today."

"Of course she doesn't. Our kid is _perfect_ , Betts" Jughead returns with absolutely no bias in his words and his view.

Betty simply rolls her emerald eyes despite the fact that her boyfriend can't see from the other side of the phone. Then, Jughead's last remark is followed by a little chuckle a few moments later, after earning himself silence from Betty on the other side of the line.

Then, to break the brief and perfectly comfortable silence between the two of them, Betty speaks up once again, raising a thought that had been on her mind given the events of earlier that day when Bailey had protested against Jughead leaving, a little crushingly.

Betty had seen the waves of guilt that had flooded through Jughead as their daughter sniffled into his shoulder and clung onto him, pleading with him not to leave them for the night.

So, knowing the painful-parent moments all too well from immunisations to unfavourably received discipline, Betty wants to check in with Jughead after one of his first doses of the cruel experience.

"How are you doing, babe? I know it's never easy feeling like you've upset her. Just know that Bailey doesn't love you any less. She was only upset _because_ she loves her dad so much."

Betty can almost feel the smile that she knows is slowly filling her boyfriend's lips from the other side of the line.

"But seriously, how are you doing?"

Jughead exhales a long sigh before answering his girlfriend.

"Yeah, alright I guess... It was pretty rough feeling like I was disappointing her by leaving earlier… Are paternal hormones a thing for dad's? I feel like since meeting her, every emotion and feeling is just on steroids. I feel like I go from the highest highs to having my heart crushed by that kid."

Betty chuckles knowing _exactly_ what Jughead means and feels feels. One moment being Bailey's mum brings her joy like she's never known before. However, it had also come along with some of the hardest moments she's endured, feeling like she has had to drag her and her little girl through life.

"It's a rollercoaster, alright... However, you'll be pleased to know that she's much brighter now and I was having a chat to her as I was putting her to bed. She's doing okay now because she's decided that your dad would be sad without you because Hot Dog can't talk to him."

A long silence follows Betty's words that she's hoping will console her boyfriend. In fact, the pause is so long that Betty actually murmurs his name over the phone checking that the call hadn't dropped out and he was in fact still on the phone with her.

Then, when he finally speaks up, Jughead doesn't reply to her concerned 'Juggie?' nor does he say a word about her efforts to console him with an update on their daughter. Instead, he raises a thought that has been echoing through his mind, a thought that he's spent the last few moments considering and falling in love with the idea of before he finally voices the idea and speaks up confidently.

"Maybe our kid is trying to tell us something... Maybe I _shouldn't_ have to leave you girls every night... Maybe we should move in together. What do you say?"

Jughead's proposition comes out of the blue, out of nowhere, throwing Betty despite the fact that their daughter had unwittingly been pushing for the same thing just hours earlier.

The pause that follows Jughead's proposition is almost as long as the pause that had preceded it.

Then, finally, Betty speaks up in little more than a whisper.

"I don't know, Jug. I really don't know..."

* * *

 **Sorry for it being a little longer than usual between chapters. I've been at a bit of a crossroads with this chapter and the next few that follow it. I've ended up including more in this chapter and then rewriting the next few quite drastically so I needed to know what direction I was going in before I could get this one up. While it won't mean anything major for Bughead seeing as they're united going through it, we are going to be looking into Betty's feelings a little more along with some of the results of the past over the next few chapters. Don't worry though, it's not really going to be a step back for them. Just like with their _'I love you's',_ Betty's just taking her own time and way. They worked through some of Jughead's feelings a few chapters ago and now it's just Betty's turn. They'll be stronger for it. **

**Anyway, don't forget to drop a comment on the chapter. I'd love to know what you think of this one and all the different family moments.**

 **Also, thank you so much to everyone who left feedback on the last chapter. I'm sorry you had to wait just a smidgen longer for this one.**

 **Next chapter: Betty tries to understand herself and her own feelings, with a little help from Veronica. **


	55. Commitment

**CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE – Commitment**

It had been a long day and almost every member of the little Cooper-Jones family was exhausted in one way or another.

However, after some blissfully beautiful bonding moments together with her father earlier in the day, little Bailey had opened a can of worms as she finally began to question why her father has to leave her and mother every day and why he had to go home.

While it hadn't taken long for the little three year old to be calmed down from her upset with her father as both her parents endeavoured to do their best in explaining their untypical situation, the questions that Bailey had raised lingered for far longer on her parents minds than on her own.

Consequently, what had started as a few simple questions from a little girl had resulted in her father raising the same question to the mother of his child, receiving the answer he hadn't seen coming; " _I don't know_ "...

Betty's answer hadn't prompted a huge domino effect nor had it made things particularly uncomfortable between the two of them as Betty quickly followed up her " _I don't know"_ with " _just let me think about it, I need to wrap my head around the idea"_. After all, the two of them are both secure enough within their relationship to accept the little difference of opinion.

However, Jughead and Betty hung up the call with each other a little earlier than they otherwise may have that night. Then, as Betty lay beside their little girl as she tried to sleep that same night she can't seem to extinguish her guilt at feeling as though she's unwittingly withholding Jughead from being in all aspects of their daughter's life.

Then, after finally getting to sleep, the following morning Betty can't shake the feeling of being distracted and offbeat as she gets herself and Bailey ready for the day ahead of them, pushing to leave the house before nine to drop the little girl off with her own parents for their fortnightly day with their granddaughter. It's hardly surprising, though. After all, Betty's mind is completely consumed with analysing her daily life and routine, trying to envision another person living within that, trying to contemplate the impact and change it would have on her and Bailey's lives and then trying to assess her own thoughts and feelings on that concept.

At first the idea brings a smile to her face, the idea of being a complete family unit. However, each time she finds herself considering it, before long she is overwhelmed with hesitation from the concept of it.

So, carrying out her daily routine, Betty pours out too much cereal as she prepares Bailey's breakfast, she burns her own toast, she forgets to put earrings on before leaving the house and she realises that she left her purse at home on the way to drop Bailey off at her parents.

Betty just _cannot_ pull her mind away from trying to analyse Jughead's suggestion while desperately trying to understand her own hesitation. However, consequently she finds herself slipping up on usual parts of her typical day or finding that they slip from her mind completely.

She knows that she loves him _completely_. She has no doubt about it.

So, why then, had she frozen up? Where had her " _I don't know"_ come from? Why is she so hesitant when it should just be all she's ever wanted with the man she wants it _with_?

With the same questions going over and over again in her head infuriatingly, Betty takes a deep breath as she drives through the streets of the small town, stealing a quick glimpse through her rear vision mirror to check on the little girl who is staring out the window from where she's sitting in the backseat contently. Just the sight of her brings a warm smile to the young mother's face.

"You okay back there, Bailey-girl?"

As soon as her mother speaks up, Bailey's big blue eyes dart from the world outside and towards Betty.

"Yep!" Bailey chirps brightly to her mother as her blonde ponytail bounces around before she parrots Betty's words back to her. "You okay back there, mummy?"

While Betty smiles at Bailey's repeated, though out of place 'back there' she _beams_ at her daughter's care.

"Yeah, baby... I'm okay. Thanks sweetie."

With a little grin spreading across her lips, Bailey returns her attention to looking out through the car window, releasing a little gasp of recognition

"Wow! The car's nearly there, mummy! At Nanna and Grandad's house!"

With a little chuckle at Bailey's 110% enthusiasm for _everything_ , Betty focuses on finding a park out the front of her parents place before she replies back to her little passenger with a 'we're here, Bailey'.

Helping Bailey out of the car and collecting her little girl's backpack, Betty follows after the three-year-old who has raced ahead of her to the front door that she's already started to pound on loudly.

Then, before Betty has even reached Bailey's side, the deep red door of her childhood is swung, open revealing the delight on the grandmother-to-three's face as she scoops up her youngest grandchild who immediately gives her a hug.

Trailing behind Bailey, Betty has a smile on her face at watching the warm greeting between her mother and her own daughter as Alice places Bailey back down on the ground just as Betty reaches the two of them, giving her mother a quick hug also.

Racing further into the Cooper home to find her grandfather, Bailey leaves Betty and Alice at the doorstep as Alice invites her youngest daughter in for a drink. However, Betty declines her mother's offer, just handing over her three-year-olds butterfly backpack to her before the older of the two women bellows out to Bailey to say her goodbyes.

Seconds later, the little girl is back and heading straight for her mother's open arms, launching herself at Betty who catches her effortlessly.

"Bye baby girl" Betty whispers into Bailey's ear from where she's nestled into the comfort of her mother and with her arms slung around her neck. "Be good for Nanna and Grandad, okay? I'll see you tonight, Bailey."

Bailey just nods into her mother before climbing down and racing off with a final "Bye!" leaving the elder generation of mother and daughter standing in the doorway idly.

"Thanks for looking after her" Betty says to her mother.

In doing so, Betty steps further into her childhood home to give her mother a hug, catching a glimpse of something that simultaneously makes her stomach do a little flip and takes her breath away.

After hours of confusion, mixed emotions and her own feelings that she couldn't quite get a grasp of, all it had taken was for Betty to return home to make sense of herself and her feelings...

#

The following morning, Betty and Veronica had made arrangements to meet up for drinks at _Pop's_ for a catch up among their busy lives.

The raven-haired girl scurries in and rushes over to her best friend apologetically when she arrives a few minutes late, scooting into the booth opposite the blonde with a hand pressed to her swelling abdomen.

"Hey B, I'm so sorry I'm late."

With a wave of her hand and a kind smile towards her friend, Betty brushes Veronica's apology off.

"That's alright, I haven't been here long myself."

Veronica barely even registers Betty's reply before she notes the empty seat beside the young mother, speaking up with a little frown on her face.

"So where's that gorgeous girl of yours? I was supposed to be racking up some _serious_ Bailey-brownie-points while Archie's not here."

At Veronica's question, Betty looks down at the table as she chuckles to herself from the reminder of her two best friend's ongoing rivalry for her daughter's affections. It had been ignited right from when Veronica got a windy 'smile' from baby Bailey first, then intensified by the fact that at one Betty's daughter had started saying " _Chieeee_ " before ' _V'_ and even to this day the husband and wife are embroiled in an rivalry over their friends' three-year-old.

"Sorry, V. Bailey's with my parents today. It's their Friday to spend the day with her. So, anyway, what about you? How are _you_ feeling?"

Suddenly being reminded of the little swell to her belly once again, Veronica pats her hand over her stomach atop her fitted high-end dress again with a little smile.

"Good... Thankfully the morning sickness is beginning to subside and I'm beginning to feel normal again, just ravenous."

With a knowing smile and a kind nod, Betty empathises for her best friend, reflecting on her own pregnancy over four years ago, along with all the joys and the difficulties that go along with those wild nine months.

"So how far along are you now?"

"Seventeen weeks yesterday" Veronica replies, grinning proudly as she looks over to her friend sitting on the other side of the well-worn booth.

The girls are interrupted momentarily as Pop Tate places the milkshakes and fries in front of the two friends which Betty had ordered on her and Veronica's behalf before she quickly picks up where they had left off, knowing all the right questions to ask from her own experience.

"Ooh, nearly halfway... Are you guys planning on finding out the sex?"

Betty's question to Veronica might as well be a rapid-fire round, with the answer almost instantly spilling from her lips, without a second thought.

" _Absolutely_... Arch wanted to know what we were having within five minutes of finding out about the baby. Plus, I need a colour to base the nursery's design and theme around."

Smiling to herself at Veronica's answer, Betty just about could have _guessed_ both Archie and Veronica's response to that question; it is completely and utterly her friends.

However, in the same situation, Betty on the other hand had opted for the old-fashioned route, deciding to wait for the surprise upon her daughter's birth.

"I could have guessed" Betty remarks, smiling warmly to Veronica. "Personally, I liked the surprise when Bailey was born, but it'll be so nice for you guys to know and to plan."

Veronica nods as she takes a sip of her chocolate milkshake that Betty had ordered for her before her gaze turns to Betty herself while a marginally more sombre smile settles on her lips. This time there's a little more bitter than there is sweet, seeing as Betty's remark has reminded Veronica of something that's been on her mind quite a lot of late.

"Look, I've been meaning to tell you, B, but going through this pregnancy and just what I've experienced so far just keeps making me think about how much I admire _you_. All the physical horrors, the appointments, all the fears and concerns, all the changes, everything you have to think about... Honestly, I can't believe that you did all of this at _sixteen_ , all on your own. You are one incredible woman, Betty Cooper."

Betty smiles at her friend's praise and commendation, looking down to her milkshake as a flush settles on her cheeks.

"Thanks, V, but I wasn't _really_ alone, you know... I had you and Arch; I had FP and my parents, sometimes. Besides, it's all worth it in the end. Bailey has been worth _all_ of it."

At the young mother's words, Veronica can't help but smile, rubbing her belly with her hand that is pressed to her own abdomen. Ever so slowly, Veronica has been beginning to appreciate what Betty's saying and understanding the feeling of everything being 'worth it'.

After all, unlike her best friend, Veronica had not been certain at first. Not even a little bit. In fact, it had taken her a while to show anywhere _near_ as much enthusiasm and conviction as Betty had after the discovery her own pregnancy. However, now that she's had time to think it through, Veronica can't imagine any alternative to carrying her husband's child, the baby that she cannot wait to meet in around five months time.

However, after a few moments of reflection on herself, her own pregnancy and feelings, Veronica looks up to Betty once again, directing the conversation back to the blonde.

"So, what about _you_? Has any talk about babies come up for you and Jughead? I mean, I know that both of you love Bailey to bits but we all know that she wasn't exactly a thought out plan between you two. Have you spoken about the possibility of any more kids since getting back together?"

With a well-timed sip of her vanilla milkshake, Betty buys herself a few moments of thinking time to ponder her friend's question before answering it.

"Kind of, in a backwards sort of way... You see, Jughead actually saw the test I'd bought for you. He assumed it was mine from while I was with Casey. So, in a way that ended up bringing the topic up between us not long after we got back together. We kind of ended up resolving that we'd both like Bailey to have a sibling so there is _that_ , but seeing as there was nothing concrete mentioned or a timeframe, it was really just more of a passing comment."

The look on Veronica's face reveals the fact that she had not expected that comment from her best friend at all. However, Betty's response does leave a little smirk on her face, too.

"Wow... So you want another one? That makes me feel a little better... Pregnancy and motherhood can't be _that_ horrific if you're thinking about going again."

Betty nips at her lip as she chuckles at what her friend is saying to her, though her mind is drifting off further than that. Sitting there, thinking about it, Betty realises the fact that yes, _yes_ she definitely **would** be open to the idea of becoming a mother again...

In fact, there's a teeny, tiny part of her that really, really _wants_ to.

"That idea is still a little strange to me. You see, for so long I was preparing myself for the fact that a 'family' would probably only ever be just Bailey and I. I had to be content with that. Then, Casey came along and the two of us did discuss the idea of having a baby together. But now, being with Jughead it just feels _right_. We're already this little sort of family and I really do love the idea of a growing family and the idea of us giving Bailey a little sibling..."

Meanwhile as she hangs onto Betty's every word, Veronica's smile begins to grow in amazement at what her friend is telling her as she pours her heart out a little hesitantly.

"Wow, B... Have you told Jughead any of that? That another baby's something you really want?"

Barely able to believe the fact that the words are spilling from her own lips, Betty shakes her head coyly, looking down to the table of their booth as a flush of pink spreads across her cheeks.

" _No_... Even though I'm feeling pretty clucky at the moment, it's probably just a bit of a whim. Besides, honestly I've been slowly coming to realise that I would prefer to do things properly, the 'right' way, if we had another baby. I mean, although we're in a much better place, my pregnancy with Bailey and everything that was going on in my life at the time was so traumatic that I don't actually think I _can_ commit to the idea of having another baby unless I had that kind of commitment."

Pausing for a moment as she pours her heart out to her best friend, Betty momentarily reflects on what she's saying aloud, chuckling to herself at what's coming out of her own mouth.

"You know, it's quite funny, actually... I felt like I had broken away from my mother and all of her views and ideals. But, I've realised that I'm actually so much more synchronized with her views than I ever thought I was. I've come to appreciate that things like marriage means something to me, to being a family. Jug and I actually kind of, sort of, talked about engagement a few weeks back. I think we both made it clear that we're interested in the long run but I could tell how nervous he was, second-guessing himself so I didn't really want to tell him how _into_ that idea I was..."

Once again, Veronica nods, waiting to see if her friend wants to divulge anything more before she jumps in and replies to what she's saying.

"That's not all though... Last night Bailey was upset that Jug had to go back to his dad's. Then while we were talking later on Jughead put the idea of moving in together out there..."

Veronica's big brown eyes widen in surprise at what her best friend is revealing to her, surprised that it was _not_ the detail that Betty had actually opened their conversation with.

"Wow... So what do you think? What did you say to that?"

Exhaling a long sigh as she looks out the window while stirring her milkshake with her straw, Betty divulges a little more detail in what is quickly becoming a soliloquy as she talks through her thoughts with her best friend.

"I said I don't know... I really don't know. I love Jug. So much. That's not the issue. I just, I don't know... I'm scared. All day I've been trying to work out what's holding me back and I've been trying to understand why I feel the way I do when it should be all I want... I need to talk to Jug about it again, but I think I've just needed to work it out for myself, first. Ever since he suggested us moving in together, I've just been feeling and thinking so many different things and I'm just trying to make sense of my jumble of feelings and emotions. But, ever since I dropped Bailey off this morning, I think I'm making sense of it and of myself..."

However, as Betty remains silent this time, Veronica considers the fact that while -once again- she can't exactly _understand_ her friend's point of view, she does support her and she appreciates the fact that she has no idea in the slightest of what Betty had endured through her own pregnancy. After all, Veronica's knows that _she_ has everything that her best friend never did.

So, reaching a hand out for Betty's across the table, Veronica just gives her friend a warm smile before giving her hand a squeeze of reassurance.

"Fair enough, B. Do _what_ is right for you, _when_ it's right for you and _however_ it's right for you."

"Thanks..." Betty says as she smiles appreciatively towards her best friend and what she's telling her.

However, her eyes fall as she bites the coy smile on her lips. Meanwhile, as a flush is spreading across her cheeks, Betty doesn't stop talking there, divulging a little _more_ with even more honesty.

"Mind you, constant ovary explosions from seeing my man and my baby together doesn't help matters... Jughead had to leave before Bailey went to bed last night and she was _so_ upset. The two of them cuddling as he comforted her… _Gosh_."

Veronica just chuckles at Betty's admission as the blonde trails off, clutching at her heart.

"Well, you might be the incredible Betty Cooper and a Super-Mum but you are _still_ only human..."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and supporting guys. I'm so grateful for you all.**

 **Less than 10 chapters left guys...**

 **Next chapter: Bughead talk commitment. Betty tries to help Jughead understand how she's feeling and what she's thinking. Then, they make another little resolve after working out where they go from here. **


	56. Super Committed

**CHAPTER FIFTY SIX –** _ **Super**_ **Committed**

After meeting up with Veronica at _Pop's_ , Betty heads for _The Riverdale Register_ , knowing that her boyfriend will be there and that he will be working alone seeing as both her parents have taken their regular day off once a fortnight in order to spend the day with Bailey.

Walking past the street-front of the office of her parent's newspaper, Betty sees her boyfriend before he sees her, his headphones covering his ears as he types away madly; his full focus on his laptop and his latest story.

Her means of entrance doesn't concern Betty. After all, although she tries the door firstly -which opens simply from the twist of her hand- she knows she has a spare key to her parents workplace and the paper that she too works on externally in her bag anyway.

Then, letting herself in, Betty watches as her boyfriend doesn't even flinch from her entrance. He is _completely_ unaware of her presence right until she takes a seat on the side of his desk next to his laptop just as she drops the _Pop's_ takeaway bag down in front of him on the desk beside her.

Jughead jolts from the shock while his eyes quickly fly up to meet the unexpected visitor, relaxing at noting _who_ that visitor is.

"You should lock the door" Betty states succinctly as she crosses her arms in front of her.

With the lingering effects of being startled slowly fading, a smirk replaces it on Jughead's lips.

"Do you care about me or something?"

The mischievous little expression that flickers on Betty's face that follows her boyfriend's remark in that moment reminds him of their daughter, through and through.

"Something like that..."

As Betty trails off, the two fade to silence along with it and the small smile that they are sharing eventually fades to neutral expressions. Then, Betty finds herself looking down to the ground in front of her while Jughead turns his gaze to the laptop in front of him.

Although things had initially started off no differently between them, the silence seems to remind the two of them of the events of the night before now that they are seeing each other for the first time since Jughead's proposal of sorts.

Picking her gaze up from the ground, Betty watches her boyfriend, studying him closely before she inhales a deep breath, preparing to speak up as she places a comforting hand on his shoulder, only to be cut off as Jughead beats her to it and speaks up first.

"Look, forget about what I said last night. It came out of nowhere and I just dumped the idea of it on you without really any other discussion. I'm sorry."

Betty's face softens as her hand that she has laid on his shoulder slowly ascends to the side of his face, cupping it, while stroking his cheek within her hands.

"No, Jug... No I'm not going to forget about it because I _want_ a future with you... I _see_ a future with you. That's why I couldn't understand where my own hesitation was coming from. It's about _me_ and my head, not my feelings for _you_."

Turning his gaze and his attention to her, Jughead nods slowly, watching her closely as he tries to fight against the voice in his head that is telling him: 'of course it is about _you_ , not her', despite the fact that he can see the truth of her words for himself on her face.

"Honestly, I _do_ love the idea of the three of us being together all the time, but my answer is coming from something holding me back. I spent all of last night and all of today trying to work out what's holding me back when it should be all I want and when it should be the next step forward for us..."

Nodding silently, Jughead isn't sure that he can hold his eye contact with Betty as she pauses, though, seeming as though she will be continuing to speak any moment now. Try as he might, the little voice in his head and that shadow of insecurity that follows him everywhere is busy telling him that it's _all_ to do with him, him, him; not _her_.

He trusts her, he trusts that she's telling him the truth and he has faith in their relationship. However, the struggle is still not a simple one and he still needs to fight the pull of the voice in his head that he has spent so long listening to. It's the same voice telling him that it's his fault, that he's not good enough, and that it's _always_ been his fault.

"Like I said, I **do** love the idea of it, but it is just _such_ a big jump... At first, I honestly didn't know if it was my upbringing, my scars or just my own values, but I did know that it's _me_. I love you, Jug. I have loved you for such a long time now and I know I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. But, I don't know that I can move in with you. At least not yet."

As they sit closely next to each other in the cold, reverberating room, Jughead watches his girlfriend intently for a few moments before replying. Meanwhile, she notes his big, blue eyes that their daughter shares growing bigger and increasingly afraid.

"Are we going too fast for you? Is that the problem?"

Before she can even get a word out, Betty is shaking her head, quickly taking his hands into hers to provide herself as much comfort as she's trying to provide him. Almost as much as she doesn't want Jughead to doubt _himself_ , Betty doesn't want her boyfriend to doubt _their relationship_.

"No... No, it's not that. I'm committed to you, Jug, but, I... I do think that I want until we're married before we move in together."

Betty eyes are intent on her boyfriends as she watches his reaction at what she's telling him play out on his face.

Then, looking down to the ground from where she's sitting beside him on his desk, Betty begins to chuckle, sounding both a little forced and a little uncomfortable.

"It seems pretty stupid coming from a teen mum, doesn't it? The girl who got herself pregnant in high school can't bring herself to sign up for a defacto living arrangement..."

While just moments earlier his mind was consumed with putting _himself_ down, now Jughead is quick to stop Betty from seeing herself in that light, putting _herself_ down.

"Hey. Don't say that. Don't even _think_ that" Jughead says seriously, squeezing her hands from within his. "Is that how you feel? Do not define yourself by the age we were when we had Bailey... You are so much more than a stereotype, Betts. You are allowed to feel however you feel about it."

Betty gives her boyfriend a weak smile before glancing away with a little sigh. She appreciates his words but she doesn't necessarily believe them for herself. However, she continues speaking, moving on in the conversation as she shares more of her thoughts with her boyfriend reflectively.

"I didn't know what it boiled down to the most. Part of me was scared... I mean, I had to create a safe haven for Bailey and I to get us through some really, really hard times and _here_ has been that place for us. But, then there's another part of me that just doesn't feel completely comfortable with the idea... Like I said, I didn't know if it was my upbringing or my family's values or my scars or my own values. But, it wasn't until I walked into my parent's house when I was dropping Bailey off when the penny dropped. Since then, everything's just made sense. All my values and feelings just make sense to me now... I realised that it's actually _all_ of it."

Jughead is watching her intently, listening to every single word that she is telling him as she divulges her thoughts and feelings to him. Then, he just scoops her hand up into his once again with a gentle squeeze of reassurance that is enough to encourage her to continue speaking and explaining.

"I need commitment, Jug. I know it doesn't mean all that much to some people and I know that other people don't ever even need it, but I _do_... I _want_ the piece of paper... It's more than just a piece of paper to me. I want to do things the 'right' way; the traditional way... Part of it's from the way I was raised, part of it's as a result of my scars and part of it's because marriage is something that's important to me; it's something I value. Now, please don't think I'm not blaming you, I'm not –know that- but I gave the other way a shot and it ended in me hurting myself and doing the single-mum thing at sixteen. I want us to be married before we take that next step and live together. It's just what I feel is right for me, and for us..."

Jughead just nods, continuing to watch her closely, with all his focus on her as he tries to comprehend all that she's telling him about herself as she explains some of her innermost thoughts and feelings that she's only just beginning to understand about _herself_.

Then, all of a sudden, Betty begins to _chuckle_. Simultaneously, a little tear forms in the corner of her eye, trickling down her cheek which her boyfriend is quick to swipe with his free hand.

"It's crazy... I always thought that I was living my life _my_ way. I thought that I was shunning the Stepford family image and the way I was raised by my parents. But, I'm just now discovering that _my_ way and my values are so much closer to _theirs_ than I ever realised."

Jughead simply nods, trying to understand what she's telling him as he continues to stroke her hands as they hold one anothers.

After all, he's always understood Betty to hate the perfection, the standards that she was raised with and has always been measured up against so he wants to try and understand her feelings and her own self-discovery the best that he can.

"You're allowed to feel like that, but how do you mean?"

Betty pauses for a moment, glancing over to her boyfriend before her gaze flickers away. Then, she exhales another little sigh as she tries to find the words to put her feelings into.

"Commitment, marriage, all of that, it's important to me... I still absolutely _hate_ the idea of perfection and upholding that glossy image. I don't want the sugar-coated family; I don't expect you or Bailey to be perfect, not at all, but I _do_ want that solid base to build our family on. Part of that is because of the age that we had Bailey at and how the way that we did so was so out of order and I suffered for it. I want to do things the proper way, because I don't know if I _could_ willingly expose myself to doing things any other way... Being married rather than partners is important to me... I value that commitment and marriage, I value working towards that with a family."

Once again, Betty pauses momentarily while Jughead continues stroking her hand encouragingly, silently helping her to continue speaking as she pours her heart out to her boyfriend.

"I want to be entirely committed to our family... I don't want Bailey to grow up feeling like we were just high school sweethearts who had a baby young and just tried to keep things together because we had her. I want Bailey -I want our kids- to know that we are just committed to _each other_ as we are to _them.._."

There is a long, long pause.

With her eyes fixed away from him, _she_ doesn't see the way that Jughead is nodding while _he_ doesn't feel the way her heart is pounding and racing at the vulnerability of putting all her thoughts and feelings about her relationship out in the open.

Then after the extended silence and after a deep breath, Betty finally looks up to Jughead, her green eyes revealing the fact that she is more than a little scared.

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, Jug. I'm not pressuring you to marry me. I'm not pressuring _us_ to get married. I'm just trying to tell you how I feel... I hope you can come to accept it."

Jughead just gives his girlfriend a warm smile of reassurance, before finding another way to convey that reassurance without a single word as he presses his lips to hers lovingly, gently and without even a slither less love than before she had started to speak and explain her mind to him.

After his wordless reassurance, Betty returns Jughead's smile with a small one of her own before she glances away again, stroking his hand with her thumb as she feels the need to continue speaking and explaining in the silence.

"And _Bailey_... The three of us are still adjusting to be a family, too. I think we're doing a really, really good job at it so far, but I'm also very wary of the fact that I feel like by waiting a bit longer before the three of us move in together it'll make it a little more seamless. She loves you to bits, Jug, but the two of us is all that she'd ever known..."

Jughead nods in agreement of what his girlfriend is telling him. After all, while a part of him can barely remember the time in his life without his little girl in it, Jughead _does_ understand that he still hasn't even been in hers for quite a year yet. Then, within that year, they had gone from total strangers to developing the close bond that they have now and also in that time the three-year-old has seen changes in her mother's partner and even just their day-to-day life as little by little Jughead has been incorporated into the role of an involved parent and father to her.

"No, I get that. I know that a lot has changed for Bailey in her little world over the last year... She's done so well and handling all those changes but I mean me moving in and the potential of us having to move into somewhere big enough for the three of us would probably be the biggest change for her yet..."

Betty nods at her boyfriend's words as her gaze flickers to him before she looks away guiltily as the young mother is considering another factor that is weighing on her.

"Jug? I feel guilty for feeling the way that I do about moving together and feeling like that's going to limit your time with Bailey, when it's not impacting on mine. But, just know that you are always, always, welcome to be with us or to have her for a night or whatever it might be. She's _ours_."

Jughead nods, with a small smile of appreciation.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I just get to swoop in and be the fun dad..."

Betty rolls her eyes as she lovingly takes the side of his face into her hand. After all, both of them well-know that he is _absolutely_ joking.

Jughead has proved himself to be a hands-on wherever and whenever he can be, doing his absolute best to make up for lost time with both his daughter and the mother of his child. He's been there through the highs, the lows, the tears, the sickness and everything in-between.

Then, as she lovingly strokes the side of his face in her hand, Betty looks up to him as her emerald green eyes soften while she watches him, filled with her love for the man she's looking at.

"Now, I'm only half of this relationship, Jug. What do _you_ want?"

Jughead takes her other hand into his own before he answers her, entangling their fingers before looking at her.

"I want to be with you -however that is and whatever speed we take that at- _and_ I want to be there for Bailey. _That's_ what I want."

While it might not have been the outcome that he'd been expecting after his timely suggestion that had been prompted by their daughter, he still respects her thoughts and her feelings.

"I love you, Betty. I have put you through so much pain and struggle in the past. So, I want nothing more than for you to feel comfortable, secure and most of all _happy_. I'll do anything to make that happen."

Betty just smiles gratefully, knowing how different this conversation could have gone, appreciating the grace of the love of her life.

"Thank you for not letting this spook you. Thank you for understanding my feelings..."

She squeezes his hands before releasing her hold on them as she takes his head into her hands, looking him into his eyes deeply.

"Look, I just want to make sure that you know that my feelings are me, not _you_. And even though I feel the way that I do and I want to do things the way that I do, whenever I consider my future, you are right there beside me. I love you, Jughead Jones, without a question of a doubt."

#

While Betty had spent the day trying to determine her own feelings before then relaying them to her boyfriend, the young mother knows that there is one more person that she needs to check in with; the little person who is of a higher priority than both herself and Jughead in both their eyes.

For the last four years and ever since a perfect, little baby girl was placed into a teenager's arms, Betty's world has orbited around the little girl who is sitting on the park bench beside her, currently preoccupied with licking her ice-cream.

After collecting her daughter from her parents place just half an hour ago, Betty had taken Bailey out for a special treat and a little bit of mother-daughter time.

In a small way, it still feels a little strange to Betty that after three years of it and up until not all that long ago, 'mother-daughter' time had been their entire lives; all day, every day. Betty lives for Bailey while Bailey thinks her mother hung the moon and the stars.

Yet, over the last few months, two had become three as Jughead had become so entwined within every element of both Betty and Bailey's lives that now dedicated 'mother-daughter' time is just a novelty to be savoured for a short while before the third member of their little family is back with them later on in the day.

Looking down to the little girl who in an absolute blend of both herself and the man she loves, Betty can't help the adoring smile that spreads across her lips before she speaks up to steal her daughter's attention away from the ice-cream that she's currently fixated on.

"Bailey? Are you happy?"

As her big, bright blue eyes turn to look up at her mother, the smile on Bailey's face answers Betty's question before she has a chance to answer it.

" _Super_ happy."

Just over the last few weeks 'super' has been Bailey's new favourite adjective, making its way into almost every sentence in every context, both right and wrong.

" _Bailey's too_ _ **super**_ _awake to go to bed, daddy..."_

' _Bailey wants to watch Moana_ _ **super**_ _much...'_

' _My blue pencil needs_ _ **super**_ _lots of sharpening...'_

' _Mummy, my dinner is_ _ **super**_ _yummy this time...'_

Upon hearing the simple, two word answer from her daughter brings a smile to Betty's face, knowing the answer to the most important thing in the young mother's life.

However, after the discussion that she and Jughead had had earlier today, Betty has been wanting to check-in with the little girl seeing as Bailey and her upset that had sparked the entire conversation and the assessment of the idea of three of them moving in together.

"You got pretty sad when daddy had to go home the other night, Bailey-girl. Are you okay now?"

With even more enthusiasm, Bailey looks up to her mother brightly, nodding at her question as she remembers the compromise that both her parents had assured her of during her upset as they consoled their daughter.

"Yeah, I get to have sleepovers with daddy and grandpa and Hot Doggy! 'Member, mummy? I'm _super_ excited."

Betty can't hold back her smile at her bright and bubbly little girl as well as her contagious positivity and enthusiasm which is forever helping everyone around her to see the cup half-full.

However, despite her own feelings on the issue that's been raised within her family as a mother first and foremost, Betty has to ensure that her three-year-old is content and happy with their little world.

"Would you be happier if daddy had sleepovers with us?"

This time, Bailey pauses and Betty can just about _see_ her little girl thinking about her question before she looks up at her with honest concern.

"I don't fink daddy wants to sleep on the floor in our house, mummy... We don't have any beds left. Daddy _has_ a bed at grandpa's house."

Biting her lip, Betty has to resist the urge to chuckle at her three-year-olds interpretation of their situation, just seeing beds and bedrooms as the problem. After all, to the little girl who already spends most of her days with both her parents, the prospect of staying with her father and beloved grandfather more frequently now is just an added novelty.

Betty is pleased that Bailey seems to have calmed down from her upset of the other night that almost seems just about forgotten now. However, as a result of today and with a future that both she and Jughead are synchronized with looking to for 'one day' when they take the next steps in their own relationship, Betty does try to float the idea to her little girl.

"Do you think you'd be happy if _maybe_ one day daddy started to sleep over with us _every_ night? It would be in lots and lots of sleeps time and when you're a little bit older."

This time, Bailey doesn't even look to her mother as she focuses on examining her ice-cream, checking for any bits that are melting as she gives her mother the simple, unfazed answer.

"Yep!"

Then, feeling better about her family and the future that they all seem to be synonymous with, Betty exhales the breath that she didn't know that she'd been holding in, as she leans down to press a kiss to her daughter's golden locks, her lips lingering as she whispers to the little girl.

"Bailey? Daddy and I just want you to be happy, baby girl."

Bailey looks up to Betty, giving her another bright smile before her head collapses against her mother comfortably.

"Bailey's happy. Bailey's _super_ happy."

* * *

 **Sorry, I'm not too well so quick authors note. Hope the chapter made sense through proofreading it with a heavy cold. Gotta love winter, hey? Anyway, thanks to everyone who has gotten this far and is continuing to read on. Not long left!**

 **Next chapter: Jughead and Betty continue moving forward, with each of them raising steps to progress forward as Jughead makes a resolve while Betty raises another way for a new way for Jughead to be involved in Bailey's life. **


	57. Another Step Forward

**CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN – Another Step Forward**

Their talk had been just what they'd needed to move past what could have grown into a far greater issue than what it was. However, they had both told their sides, they had both listened to the others opinion and they felt that they couldn't have dealt with it better.

After she'd left _The Register_ , Betty collected their daughter from her parents, taking her out for ice-cream before Jughead joined the two of them once again, making his way over to Betty's apartment straight after finishing work.

Upon his arrival at her home, she'd been torn away from preparing dinner, interrupted by their extended greeting before he finally allowed her to return to making dinner for the three of them as he took a seat on the stool at the island bench of her small kitchen which he hasn't from since.

"What do you think you're looking at, mister?" Betty asks with a little smile rippling on her lips as she catches her boyfriend watching her as she prepares dinner.

Her question forms a smirk on his lips as his eyes don't waver from where they are locked on the woman standing across from him.

"Just admiring the scenery..." Jughead responds, grinning goofily, unable to wipe the smile off his face.

Tipping her head as she raises an eyebrow in his direction, one hand lands on Betty's hip as she looks at him incredulously, calling him out.

"So _that's_ what they're calling it now?"

However, Betty still returns his smirk, her own green eyes glisten as they meet his before she turns back to preparing their wonton soup for dinner though her smile remains, lingering on her lips.

Jughead continues watching her, smiling at the way her eyebrows frown and crease as she concentrates on stuffing the perfect amount of filling and nipping the casing of the mixture closed. He watches her create about seven wontons before he finally gets up and walks around to the other side of the island, joining her as he stands behind her body, wrapping his arms around her as he presses a lingering kiss to her shoulder.

"Need a hand?" Jughead offers, absolutely _not_ interested in food preparation. Rather, he's just seizing the moment and opportunity to get a little closer to his girlfriend.

Betty smiles at the ticklish sensation of his lips pressing to the bare skin of her shoulder as she pinches the wonton in her hands closed, making the rash decision that she's made enough already with her mind quickly turning elsewhere than the job she'd just had at hand.

Then, after quickly washing her hands clean, the young mother turns around to face her boyfriend, linking her arms around his neck as she gazes up at him.

"Thanks, but I think it's all good. I think I've made enough now. I can just kill a few minutes before I cook them in the broth..."

Jughead nods, entirely unfocused by what she's telling him about her recipe as he gazes down at her with another smile curling on the corners of his lips.

"Need a hand with _that_?"

Chuckling to herself as one of her hands remains around his neck while the other slowly cascades down his chest, Betty smiles up at him in response to his offer for assistance.

"Aren't _you_ feeling useful today?"

"Anything to make your life a little easier, Betts..." he returns with a smirk.

Giving him a solid roll of her eyes, Betty sees straight through him and his offers of assistance, not that she's complaining.

"That's too kind of you, babe..."

Jughead's grin just widens as he slowly lowers to meet the level of her lips tantalisingly, planning to help her kill a few minutes as their lips finally meet in a familiar rhythm. There's something so comfortable about it, yet it's still intense and electrifying, taking their breath away when they finally pull away.

"Love you" Betty reminds gently, gazing up to her boyfriend, her emerald eyes filled with absolute love for the father of her child as she looks up and strokes his cheek with one hand while her other is still hooked around his neck, holding them close to each other.

"I love you too, Betts."

Betty smiles at the few, simple words and even more so at the love and meaning behind them, leaning up to press another kiss to her boyfriend's lips.

However, doing so, she notes the frown beginning to crease into his face, concerning her as she pulls away after a single kiss.

"What's wrong, Jug? What's with the frown?"

Betty asks between kisses, a small frown spreading onto her own face with concern as she presses another kiss to his cheek this time.

"Just thinking..."

"Oh yeah...? Our kitchen makeouts make you think about life's deep and serious problems, do they?"

Chuckling at her dramatized version of his two words with her expression that doesn't quite look impressed, Jughead just presses a kiss to her cheek before replying to her.

"Not quite that. I was just appreciating the peace and quiet that is allowing us to _have_ our kitchen makeout which made me realise that my sister's not here, again."

Betty simply nods with a playful little pout on her lips as though deciding whether or not her boyfriend's reasoning is acceptable to her.

"I must say, I'm starting to feel like I've seen JB about as much as I have over the last seven years as I have since she came back."

With the romance of the moment on a steady decline given the change of subject, Jughead nods slowly as he pushes himself off of Betty and the kitchen bench just a little as the concern that grows on his face doesn't go unnoticed by his girlfriend.

"What's wrong, Jug? I know that face... Talk to me, Juggie. Something's wrong..." Betty murmurs in little more than a whisper as she reaches out to touch her boyfriend's cheek, with similar concern growing on her own face.

"I'm worried about her" Jughead admits with a sigh, running a hand beneath his beanie and through his hair.

As his glassy blue eyes look up to meet Betty's green, Jughead can barely hide his concern as he exhales another sigh.

"I'm worried that she's getting herself involved with the wrong crowd, Betts. I've found receipts for the Whyte Worm and other bars. And, you've said that she's been going out late and getting home early – gone all hours of the day... " Jughead begins, pausing to exhale another sigh before he continues to speak and voice his concerns over his younger sister.

"It's stupid, but I'm suspecting that she's involving herself with the Serpents, right under dad's nose... But, the thing is it that if it's a _decent_ Serpents then dad or I would know about it. I'm worried that she's into something dodgy..."

With a light-hearted roll of her eyes that comes off a little harsher than what she'd been intending, Betty is quick to dispel Jughead's concerns, recalling her discussion with JB herself, knowing that it's more likely that she's falling in love than she is involving herself with the darker side of a small-town gang.

"I think that you're reading too much into it, babe. She's young. She's having fun. There's no law against that."

Jughead barely even waits for Betty to finish speaking before he starts shaking his head, disagreeing with his girlfriend's counter-argument.

"No, something's not right, Betts. I _know_ it. But, the problem is that JB's always been the type of kid that the more concern you show her, the further it pushes you _away_ from her. Miss Independent."

Watching her boyfriend intently, Betty exhales a sigh, feeling like she may have just isolated the problem...

Then, she takes her hand into his, her green eyes shining with a gentle but stern look.

"That's just it... She's _not_ a kid anymore, Juggie. I know you only want the best for your sister, but she's an adult now. Advice from an intervening big brother who got his girlfriend pregnant during high school will go down like a lead balloon, trust me. Until you know for certain that she's in trouble, you're just going to need to just trust her."

Jughead doesn't like what his girlfriend is telling him as his face falls at first before growing more stern and serious. Knowing him almost as well as she knows herself, Betty sees this so she exhales a sigh before reaching out to run a hand down his arm consolingly, warring with herself as to whether or not continue speaking.

"Look, I probably shouldn't say anything but there may be a romance involved..."

"What? Who? She's been here for like a month... How can she be seeing someone already?!"

Betty sighs, already feeling uncertain as to whether or not she's made the wrong decision by divulging the personal detail about his sister to her boyfriend.

"Look, you can't let on that I've told you anything. She's entitled to her privacy. Now, I don't know who, she hasn't said anything about who it is but I just know that she was quite taken by someone she met a few weeks back. Since that day she's barely been here."

Jughead rolls his eyes. It's almost as though the frustration of not being able to say anything to his sister, nor dispute his girlfriend, is cumulatively coming to a head with no outlet. So, he directs his frustrations elsewhere, growing sarcastic as he changes the course of the conversation a little.

"I hate that idea... I _hate_ that I can't do anything more to make sure she's okay because it'll only push her away from me. It's just so typical... _She's_ off with her own little romance only to pop her head up every now and then to nag me about proposing to you before then she's gone again..."

Through his frustration, Jughead seems to try the little dash of humour as he looks to Betty with a little smirk after his last remark.

She reciprocates the quirk on his lip with one of her own as she takes a step closer to him, further reducing the distance between them as she puts a hand on her hip and raises an eyebrow, huskily whispering the words that stay between the two of them as she smirks.

"Maybe she has a point, Mr Jones... Why _haven't_ you asked me to marry you yet?"

The expression on Betty's face is playful and teasing with her hand on her hip and her quirked eyebrow. However, Betty is quick to cease the look on her face, following it with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'm just joking with you" Betty adds light-heartedly, quickly trying to relieve her boyfriend of any pressure she may be imposing on him after a whole lot of conversation on the one subject in twenty-four hours.

However, the look on her boyfriend's face is a world away from hers with a seriousness locked into his expression as he takes a step closer to her.

" _I'm_ not... Thank you for explaining to me how you felt and why you do. Marriage means something to me too, Betts. It always has."

Jughead then brings her hand that is within his up to his lips for a single kiss. His blue eyes don't waver from where they are locked on her emerald ones as he continues speaking.

"One day, when it's right for both of us, I'll make you my wife, Betty Cooper, if I could only be so lucky."

Hearing her boyfriend's softly spoken words and seeing the earnest expression on his face only furthers the smile on Betty's face. However, this time there is no smirk and teasing to her expression. Instead, her smile is warm and genuine as it curls on her lips and radiates through her eyes.

"I like the sound of that..." Betty smiles, suddenly growing a little coy as she glances down and away from her boyfriend's loving gaze.

However, Jughead can't stop the smile that spreads across his own lips at the turn their discussion has taken with her supporting his little moment of confidence and courage as they discuss their rapidly nearing future.

"But, I'm going to do it _without_ peer pressure from my family. It's not going to come from JB nagging me for a sister-in-law or my dad wanting you to officially be his daughter, nor will it be just for the sake of us living together, I promise you that..."

Jughead's remark only furthers the smile on Betty's lips as she nips at her lip to try and stop her stupidly wide smile before she leans up to press a single kiss to his lips, gazing up at him with millimetres between them separating them even after she pulls away.

"I really, _really_ like the sound of that, Juggie..." Betty begins, speaking softly as she gazes up once again, pressing another kiss to her boyfriend's lips to punctuate her words. "And, I have a feeling that _you'll_ like my answer to that question..."

This time it's Jughead who reaches out for his lips to meet hers, pressing a single kiss to hers before pulling away with little distance between them.

"Oh, yeah?" Another kiss. "Oh _yeah_."

However, before Jughead can return another kiss to her lips, the two of them are interrupted from their quickly intensifying discussion as a set of little footsteps sends their attention to the half-asleep little three-year-old standing at the end of the hallway near them.

"Hey, baby girl... Did you have sweet dreams?" Betty coos as she looks to her daughter who is wiping her eye with her fist, pushing herself off from her boyfriend where she and Jughead had become quite comfortable and close against the kitchen bench and in order to turn her attention to Bailey.

The three-year-old nods at her mother's question before she all of a sudden seems to be released from the trap of lethargy just a little upon seeing her father standing there.

"Daddy!" Bailey grins sleepily after releasing a little gasp of excitement, seemingly thrilled by the discovery of her father standing in the kitchen that indicates his arrival since she fell asleep in an unanticipated nap as she watched a movie after arriving home.

So, traipsing across the room with a renewed purpose in her half-awake eyes, Bailey reaches out to her mother for a hug before turning to her father, sinking into his shoulder as they hug while Bailey tells him about everything that he's missed in the day since he last saw her.

"Then I watch-ded Moana again and then mummy cook-ded dinner and I eat-ed and Aunty Jeeb read-ed me a story and then mummy did too and I sleep-ded and I wake-ded up and I play-ded and I got in trouble and I didn't like it and I go-ed to grandma and grandpa's and I watch-ded Elsa and I sleep-ded and now daddy's here!"

Bailey grins, relaying her last twenty-four hours in detail to her father, recounting almost every moment that he had missed out on since he left late last night.

Meanwhile, watching her boyfriend with their daughter, Betty can't hide the look of love on her face as she watches her two great loves together as she talks and he listens intently… Betty could watch the two of them together forever, him holding Bailey in his arms, looking right at her as he strokes locks of her wild, loose hair from her face as the little girl excitedly tells her father absolutely _everything_ that she can.

Then, all of a sudden with a little gasp Bailey makes a realisation, gesturing to be put down by Jughead who almost instantly complies and places his daughter safely back on the ground. Then, Bailey barely plants two feet on the ground before she races off again, heading for her bedroom.

"Aunty Jeeb buyed me toys! I'll show you, daddy! I just needs to pick them all up. Stay there!"

The two parents watch their bubbly little girl race off and towards her bedroom down the hallway. Then, when the three-year-old is out of sight, the two of them turn to each other as they share the same proud smile over the little person that they had created together.

After a few moments, Betty speaks up as she begins to thread her fingers within Jughead's and their hands grow entangled while they hold each other's.

"I've been thinking, Jug..."

Jughead looks to his girlfriend with interest, raising their hands to his lips to purse a single kiss to the back of her hand.

"That sounds ominous. About what?"

With her emerald green eyes growing a little more serious as they meet his blues, Betty unknowingly clutches at her boyfriend's hands, squeezing a little tighter as she expresses the recurring thought that she's been having of late.

"Look, it's something that's been on my mind a fair bit lately, but today I feel like it's only being reinforced..."

While Jughead had been curious by what Betty was about to say before, now as she continues to speak his curiosity is only piqued _further_ by what she could possibly be referring to. So with a hundred percent focus on her as his eyebrows furrow a little seriously, Jughead speaks a rushed "What?"

Taking a breath of air, Betty looks to her boyfriend, then down to the ground and then back up to him. She's almost a little embarrassed to have to be raising this issue with him, a fact that they both tend to forget about, but a little thing that's been playing on her mind increasingly of late.

"I want you to be added to Bailey's birth certificate, Jug."

In fact, before Betty spoke up and raised the point to him, Jughead had almost forgotten that his daughter has the lie of 'father unknown' printed on her birth certificate. Though it is not for Betty's lack of trying seeing as try as she might, she just could not get that second signature that she needed on Bailey's birth certificate all those years ago.

However, Jughead has never needed a birth certificate or a DNA test to know how unquestionably _his_ his daughter is.

There'd never been any question of Bailey's paternity for either of the two of them.

Consequently, Jughead is curious to know where her remark has come from out of the blue and more so, _why_.

"What makes you say that, babe? Where did that come from?"

Betty takes another deep breath as her thumb strokes his hand before she looks up and looks to him to explain what's been playing on her mind and bothering her of late.

"You are Bailey's father, Jughead... Just lately I've been thinking about it and feeling like I want you to be acknowledged as that –as her father- in her every sense of the word. Her father is not some unknown man that I can't or don't want to acknowledge. Her father is the man that I've spent years loving. So, I want the beautiful baby girl that we made to be attributed to you, too, in every sense of the word."

As soon as Betty finishes speaking the words that seem to have her left her feeling a little nervous, the smile on Jughead's face begins to spread and take over.

Being listed on his daughter's birth certificate was never a necessity for him. After all, he didn't need that piece of paper or the legal recognition to feel as though he's her father and it had never in any way impacted on or imeded his relationship with Bailey. However, now that Betty _has_ mentioned it, Jughead can quickly feel himself growing addicted to the idea.

He loves the idea of seeing his name on his little girl's birth certificate, beside the love of his life.

He loves the idea of feeling as though the whole _world_ can know that he played a role in creating such a perfect, wonderful, little individual just from one piece of documentation.

But really, Jughead just loves the idea of having any and as much involvement and recognition in his daughter's life as possible in any way, shape or form.

"I'd love that, Betts... I don't know what's involved, but I'll do it. I'd love to be recognised on her birth certificate, with you."

Seeing her boyfriend's instant enthusiasm of the idea seems to put Betty at ease almost instantly. Then, as their hands come free from each other's she wraps her arms around his abdomen to rest against his chest as she tilts her lips upwards to whisper a few, simple words into Jughead's ear.

"Just as you _should_ be..."

* * *

 **Two chapters in one week?! That's unheard of! Anyway, I hope you all liked that fluffier aftermath of their conversation in the last chapter! A bit of fluff, a bit of Bailey, a bit of Bughead. So where's JB? Let's just say that where she is is just the tip of the iceberg of a few other secrets she's keeping...**

 **Fun fact - originally, this chapter was condensed with the previous chapter. But, the last chapter sort of took on a life of it's own and it would have been both enormous but also I felt like it flows better to have this just a little separate to the last chapter. However, because it was originally all supposed to be one, I did want to get this one up for you guys soon.**

 **Still can't believe there's less than 10 chapters left of this one... I really do hope you guys enjoy the journey to the end of this journey. However, if you're looking for more, you might want to check out my one-shots story ' _We're Making It Through (I And You)_ '. It's a series of (mostly) fluffy, little, domestic Bughead one-shots. I'm posting a new one of those tonight, too. Thank you to everyone who has supported one or both of my stories. Honestly, thank you. **

**Next chapter: Betty messages a perplexing shopping list to Jughead while Betty receives an odd message of her own from out of the blue. **


	58. It's A Small World, After All

**CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT – It's A Small World, After All**

A few months passed by for the small town of Riverdale, and as though trapped in a fast-moving train, both life _within_ the town and _for_ its citizens had been passing by rapidly.

Despite having been raised by Jughead, the topic of moving in had been laid to rest after Betty had voiced her concerns and her hesitations, assuring her boyfriend that it was **her** , not _him_.

From there, the two of them put it behind them, not looking back, as they continued to progress both as a couple and as a little family.

While it had been Bailey's disappointment over Jughead leaving her a few months earlier that had _prompted_ the initial discussions between her parents about their living arrangements, the resilient girl hadn't raised the issue again despite the fact that nothing had changed since.

Instead, Bailey was thrilled with the fact that she's been having regular sleepovers with her father and grandfather in the little, rundown trailer once a week, not only strengthening their close bond but also allowing her father to have some time being her primary parent.

Also, Miss Bailey could not have been _more_ excited at turning four a little under a month ago, while her parents have been trying to come to terms with the idea of sending their baby off to kindergarten for the very first time in a little over a month.

In the lead up to her big day, Bailey has been telling absolutely anybody who will listen _exactly_ how many days until she gets to go to 'little school', telling them _exactly_ what items she and her mother have bought in the lead up and _exactly_ what she plans to do at kindergarten when she gets there.

Meanwhile, since arriving in town three months ago, JB's family are still none the wiser as to where the private young girl has been sneaking off to, whom it is that she's been spending her time with and what is filling the gaps within her day. However, this was definitely despite her family best efforts and not for their lack of trying as she'd kept no trail for her father, her brother or his girlfriend to track.

On top of everything else, Betty had been busily organising Veronica's baby shower, repaying the favour of all those years ago when her best friend had done the very same for her. Despite Jughead's reassurances that everything will go off perfectly, Betty has been feeling the pressure knowing that she will have to put up a just about a gold-plated celebration for the Andrews' unborn son...

Too, Jughead had also had a sit down with both his father and -more to the point- his younger sister, warningly advising them _against_ continuing to raise the topic of an engagement, giving them the consolation that while it _is_ the next step for himself and Betty, it's not a step that they _have_ or _are_ taking just yet. That, along with his warning that they may only do more harm than good from their 'friendly encouragement' (their words, not his), concerned that it would only make the situation more awkward for himself and his girlfriend when it was an increasingly more serious prospect that they have both seemed to be growing towards...

#

Jughead had finished work by midday that Saturday, planning to immediately head over to his girlfriend's apartment to be with her and their daughter for the rest of the day.

However, just after farewelling the senior Cooper's and leaving the _Riverdale Register_ , Jughead hears his phone go off, notifying him of receiving a text.

' _Hey babe, if it's not too late, would you mind picking up some cream of tartar and a couple of bottles of food colouring? See you soon. Love you xx'_

At first glance of his girlfriend's message, Jughead's face creases up in confusion, questioning Betty's shopping list. While he immediately changes course and heads for the closest grocery store that is just down the road from _The Register,_ he does return Betty's message with one of his own.

' _Okay, will do... ? See you soon xx'_

Just after Jughead enters the store, looking for either one of his girlfriend's two requests, Jughead's phone jolts alive again with another message, after Betty had chuckled with amusement at seeing her boyfriend's confusion in the last text that he had sent her.

' _LOL – I thought we could make some play-doh with Bailey x'_

Reading Betty's latest message, Jughead chuckles to himself from where he's in the middle of the aisle of the grocery store as he puts the box of cream of tartar into his shopping basket after all of the different thoughts and conclusions he'd jumped to in order to answer the question of what Betty was needing that and the food colouring for and _why_.

Sending a little 'thumbs up' and a blown kiss, Jughead slides his phone into his pocket, turning the corner to find the food colouring.

He quickly selects the pink (Bailey's _all-time_ -favourite colour) and blue (Bailey's favourite colour of the _week_ ), slipping both into the basket too, picking up some munchies for the three of them on his way out.

#

Following his detour at the grocery store, Jughead arrives at Betty's apartment in fifteen minutes, where Bailey immediately tells her dad how many days are left on her kindy-countdown as she races into his arms at hearing the door open.

After following her daughter's path and greeting her boyfriend with a kiss also, Betty puts the suggestion to Bailey to make play-doh with them, which she had already known her child would jump at _immediately_.

Once Bailey is dressed into some of her older clothes that wouldn't matter if they got damaged as they were getting just a touch small for her, Betty found her recipe for play-doh that she'd made for her little girl a number of times before, beginning to make a start on pulling out bowls and preparing the kitchen for the three of them while Jughead endeavours to tie Bailey's long, golden locks into something that _resembles_ a ponytail.

Bailey lets out a shrill squeal as she combines the various ingredients in the saucepan giving everything a good stir before Jughead picks her up as Betty starts to light the stove top while he lectures Bailey on stove education sternly; nothing that Betty hasn't already told their little girl a hundred times before.

Then, with Jughead's hand further down on the stirring the concoction, Bailey's smaller hand is holding the spoon further up, feeling the stirring motion that he's in control of as he stirs the play-doh mixture until it's warm and combined as Betty prepares the flour for the next step.

"Um, daddy, I don't think we've made play-doh" Bailey confesses in a fearful whisper as she looks at the grey looking mixture that she watches Betty takes off the heat, transferring it to the baking-paper covered and floured bench as Jughead pulls over the chair for the little girl to stand on and get ready to start kneading.

Jughead chuckles, feigning a concerned 'oh no!' to the little girl before telling her to close her eyes as he grabs the two bottles of food colouring, adding a few drops of each into the centre of the two different floury mixes.

Then, after waiting for it to cool a little more, he then tells his daughter to open her eyes, Jughead looks down to his four-year-old with confidence.

"I think _you_ can turn it into play-doh, Bay."

Bailey gives her dad a little grin before starting to squelch and knead the mixture in her hands like her mother has taught her from when they've baked in the past.

Then, as the colour of the food colouring drops begins to taint the grey play-doh mixture, Bailey releases a squeal of joy as her two, all-knowing parents share a little grin before their little girl turns to them.

"I'm magic, daddy! Look, mummy! I'm _magic_!"

"That you are, baby" Betty smiles, pressing a kiss to the top of her daughter's head as Bailey continues to work the mixture in her hands.

After the play-doh mixture has been kneaded through, Betty sets up more baking paper on the other side of the breakfast bar as Jughead lifts Bailey to help her take her seat on the stool, sitting down beside her as she starts playing with the play-doh that they have made while Betty focuses on cleaning up from _making_ the mixture before she joins them.

As the four-year-old begins to craft her first play-doh creation, she muses thoughtfully without taking her eyes off of her work.

"I'm going to do play-doh at kindy-school _all_ the time..."

Jughead winces at his daughter's comment despite her own joy. After all, it had taken him some time to wrap his head around the fact that the beautiful little girl sitting beside him is his daughter. Now, he's feeling the same way all over again at trying to comprehend that he has a kindergarten-aged daughter.

"You're making daddy feel old, Bay..." Jughead replies as he shapes a piece of pink play-doh in his own hands at his daughter's instruction.

Then, as her big blue eyes glance up to her taller, older father, Bailey doesn't even flinch before she tells it like it is, through her own eyes.

"You _are_ old daddy."

Bailey doesn't mean it rudely. However, to the four-year-old, her father _is_ older and bigger and wiser and taller than she is. After all, she doesn't see her father who is just seventeen years old than her as anywhere near as young a father as he is, simply for how much older than her he _seems_.

Knowing this, Jughead erupts into laughter as Betty does her best to restrain herself from sniggering to stop her own amusement exploding from her lips for both her boyfriend and her daughter's sake. However, there's no stopping her laugh when Jughead speaks up following Bailey's remark.

"Hear that, Betts? It's a good thing that we had her young otherwise I would have been on track for being a geriatric-dad."

Shaking her head at her boyfriend's joke and the fact that their daughter classes him as 'old' Betty chuckles to herself while Bailey and Jughead continue crafting the play-doh as she is finishing off wiping the benches down, having just finished cleaning the dishes.

Then, just as Betty hangs the dish towel out to air-dry and rinses out the dish cloth, Jughead notes his girlfriend's phone light up from where it's sitting further down on the breakfast bar that he and Bailey are sitting at.

"Hey Betts, I think you just got a message."

Glancing over and back to her phone, Betty dries her hands off and thanks her boyfriend for letting her know. Then, as she strides over and glances at the screen, Jughead tries to read the expression on her face as she reads the message on her phone, without success.

"Who is it babe?"

"It's Case..." Betty answers, glancing over to her boyfriend and then back over to her phone with the look returning on her face.

At first, Jughead does his best to look unfazed by his girlfriend's answer. However, his effort is short-lived seeing as he can't help himself from asking the question that comes next curiously.

"Have you guys been messaging each other?"

Looking up from her phone again, Betty gives her boyfriend a reassuring glance before answering his question.

" _No_ , I would have said. I actually haven't seen or heard from him in months, not since around the time that he found out that we're together..."

Jughead just nods slowly as Betty reads over the message again before relaying the gist of it to him.

"He's asking to meet up with me, if that's okay with both of us. Apparently there's something he needs to tell me. He said to say hi to you and Bailey, too..." Betty explains to her boyfriend from where she's standing across the other side of the bench to him as she takes her hand into his before sliding her phone across to him to share her message.

"So are you okay with that? I won't go if you're not completely comfortable with the idea..."

While he'd had a flicker of insecurity at hearing of who the sender of the message was, Jughead takes only a moment to realign with the fact that they're in a good place, that he trusts her implicitly and that he has just as much confidence in their relationship as he does her; a fact that he reaffirms to her as he gives her a nod.

"We're good. I trust ya."

With a little smile as she squeezes his hand within hers, Betty leans over to press a single peck to his lips _until_ the young couple are silenced by their counterpart who had been moulding play-doh quietly on the seat beside her father.

" _Ewwww_."

#

After checking that Jughead was okay with her meeting up with her ex, Betty and Casey had made plans to meet for lunch at _Pop's_ the following day.

When Betty arrives, she is quick to find the familiar blonde who is already sitting at a booth in the corner with hot fries on the table to start them off. As she strolls across the room to join him, Casey spots her before she has a chance to reach him, sliding out of the booth to greet her.

"Hey you... Thanks for meeting me."

The two exes share a brief hug before sliding into the opposite sides of the booth.

"How are you going, Case? How's life? How's work?" Betty asks curiously with a warm smile.

"Good, thanks. I'm really good... Work's fine. I've been doing a little bit less travelling for work which has made for a nice change. It's nice only having to get ready for work in an hour, _without_ having to factor in up to a day of travel and flight times."

Betty nods at what he's telling her knowingly. After all, from when they were together she knows that Casey enjoyed his work and that he appreciated working for the family business. However, she also knew that travelling too much and too often would often get to him, reducing his enjoyment of his work altogether.

"I'm really glad for you. I'm glad that things are settling down. I'm glad you're happy."

Casey just reciprocates Betty's smile before clapping his hands down on the table as he tries to change the subject away from himself a little.

"Anyway, that's enough about me for now. How are you going? How's Jughead? Bailey? She would have just turned four, hey? That's _crazy_..."

"Tell me about it. My baby's growing up... I still can't believe that she's starting kindy soon. She can't wait though. So, yeah, that's been a bit of a main event in our lives at the moment. Other than that, she's good, Jug's good, I'm good. We've all been going well."

This time it's Casey's turn to nod understandingly as he gives his ex-girlfriend a small smile from the other side of the table.

"Good... Say hi to them both for me, won't you? I've been meaning to have the three of you around some time."

Across the table, Betty just smiles. _Of course_ , Casey would be the sort of person to set aside any discomfort of a breakup for the sake of being hospitable and keeping a friend. After all while Casey had been a _good_ boyfriend to Betty, he was an even better person.

So, in that moment, Betty can't help but feel a sting of guilt from herself and her own actions; for her irresistible attraction to Jughead and how close they had come to acting on those feelings all while she and Casey had still been together.

"I really am sorry about the way we ended up, Case... It wasn't fair to let you play my second best and to act like I wasn't. But, I have every faith in the fact that you will be someone's number one."

Casey just nods with a sombre smile at Betty's words before he answers her.

"Thanks Betty, it's okay. It was _right_. In spite of your past, I think that you and Jughead were meant to work things out together... Besides, it wouldn't have been right for me to stand in the way of Bailey having her parents work things out and be together for my own sake."

This time it's Betty who returns Casey's words with a nod. However, Casey doesn't stop there, rubbing his hands together as he works up the courage to tackle the reason why he had sent her the text out-of-the-blue yesterday.

"... But, that's actually why I wanted to meet with you, Betty... I wanted you to know before you hear it through the grapevine. I've actually been seeing someone else."

Immediately, Betty's face erupts into a large, genuine smile as her hand reaches out to give his a brief supportive squeeze.

"Oh Case, that's great news... I really am happy for you."

Casey returns his exes warm smile and the genuine delight that she's feeling on his behalf before his glance flickers away.

"Thanks Betty... I appreciate it. I wanted to let you know before we go public. I felt like you deserved the courtesy of hearing it from _me_ before you had the chance to hear it from someone else."

Tipping her head, Betty's guilt makes a reappearance, triggered by Casey's courtesy. However, one thing that Betty knows for certain is that she is feeling guilt, _not_ regret, for the way she felt about Jughead while she had still been with Casey.

"I appreciate you telling me, but you didn't owe me that, not after the way I hurt you by trying to convince both of us that Jughead was a closed chapter."

"All's well that ends well, hey?"

"Yeah, I'd have to agree that things have turned out pretty nicely for the both of us..."

On opposite sides of their table at _Pop's_ , both Betty and Casey share a smile at the shared feeling of having realised that the best had been yet to come for both of them.

"Anyway! Tell me about this girl of yours... Do I know her? I want to hear all about her."

As soon as Betty has turned the conversation back to Casey's new love, she can just about _see_ the smile that begins to fill his eyes; the smile that he can't wipe off of his face just at the mention of his girlfriend. Betty knows _that_ feeling, the feeling _she_ gets when she thinks back to the man that she had left with their daughter just half an hour ago.

"I doubt it... She has a way of hiding in all the right places. We kept it on the down low to start with. It's still only relatively new, but it's getting pretty serious."

Across the other side of the booth, Betty smiles as she nods, stealing a fry as she listens intently, genuinely interested in hearing all the details about his girlfriend that he's bursting to share...

However, as they settled into conversation, neither Betty nor Casey had noticed the girl who had arrived a little early to meet up with her boyfriend entering _Pop's_ with a ring of the overhead bell...

Neither Betty nor Casey had seen the girl watching them who didn't know their history but who could tell that they looked _close…_

Neither Betty nor Casey had seen the girl just as quickly turn back around and head out that door after seeing what she deemed to be as more than enough...

And, neither Betty nor Casey were aware of the sting that a young girl is feeling at seeing two of the people she trusts the most to sitting there visibly familiar, comfortable and together alone.

"So she's 24. Her name's JB. _Don't_ ask what that stands for. She's a great girl. You'd love her, Betty."

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Most of it was pretty light and fluffy with a little bit of family time with a dash of Bughead and their little girl. However, things are about to up the ante with the messy little web that poor JB's been entangling herself in...** **That girl has a whole lot more weighing her down than she's ever let on.** **I'd love to know your thoughts!**

 **Next chapter: Hurt and jealousy prompts JB to make an impulsive decision, backfiring on her. Then, JB's _other_ secret is revealed. **


	59. Web Of Lies

**CHAPTER FIFTY NINE – Web Of Lies**

Three months ago, just one week after an eighteen-year-old had caught bus after bus back to her hometown, a chance meeting between two broken souls had occurred, sparking a three-month long love affair between the two individuals whose lives and the people _in_ their lives are far more entwined than they'd ever known.

It had all started off when a devastated young girl was dropped off by her father at the local cafe that she'd demanded she be left at after hearing years of secrets and lies that had accumulated in her family and about her parents...

#

-Three months ago-

 _Waltzing up and walking over to the front counter to order herself a hot chocolate and the biggest piece of chocolate mud cake that they had, JB had been so preoccupied with keeping it all -including herself- together to realise that she had left her purse at Betty's apartment where all her cash and her cards were stored away in._

 _It wasn't_ _ **until**_ _the waitress was standing by the till calling out her name that the young girl realised that as a result of her focus and determination on holding in the sting of her tears that she's been locking up since her dad took her out to talk that morning, all her money had been left safe and sound in the bedside table drawer of her niece's room where she'd left it this morning._

 _With cheeks that flush pink with embarrassment, JB walks over to the till, apologising to the young girl on the other side of the counter, explaining the situation, that she'd left her purse at home, she didn't have any money on her and that she was going to need to leave the drink and cancel the cake that she'd ordered, unable to pay for it._

 _Meanwhile, a slightly older man was taking a break from where he'd spent the day working away on his laptop which he'd had set up in the corner of his favourite –and only- coffee shop in his small town._

 _He frequently found himself working the cafe in lieu of working from home. After all, he found it too still and too silent working from home in the place that was far too big for one. Overall, it was more depressing than it was convenient for him to be able to work from home._

 _So, when he wasn't working away, he would make his way down to the very same coffee shop, passing the hours until he'd finished his work for the day and before he needed to return home again to spend the remainder of his night until the following morning when he'd start it all over again._

 _From his nearby table, he overhears the second "I'm really, really sorry" as JB details the fact that she'd just been dropped off and that she'd left her money at home. His gaze then follows to the firm expression on the worker the other side of the counter's face, then back to the young girl whose body language is clearly vulnerable as she scoops at her empty pockets and searches through her phone for some desperate attempt to pay for her order, without success, as her cheeks rapidly deepen in colour._

 _Then, looking up from his nearby table to see the commotion before him, the young man gets up from his table, checks that his wallet is in his back pocket and waltzes over to the counter, beside the younger girl as he pulls his card out and hands it over to one of the many waitresses that he knows by name at his favourite coffee shop._

" _That's okay, I'll cover it, thanks Lucy."_

 _At first, a streak of annoyance floods through JB at the unannounced polite act before she quickly realises that she needs to swallow her pride. After all, she knows that she's just been saved from an uncomfortable situation that she wasn't going to have been able to get herself out of without either swallowing her pride and calling someone to ask for a few dollars or finding some other way to go plead her case._

 _So, with a big gulp, JB glances over to the stranger and swallows her valued pride as she speaks up sheepishly while she picks up her problematic hot beverage._

" _Thanks... You really didn't have to do that, though."_

 _The blonde man just nods, with a simple, "I know" followed by a small smile that the younger girl misses completely._

 _Rather, the typically overconfident young girl seems all too unconfident at needing to try and find a seat as she scans the room for a place to sit - and hopefully hide away from the rest of the world like she so desperately wants to._

 _Watching JB's gaze as she looks around the room, Casey catches on, sensing her difficulty at finding a seat in the busy room. He knows from his own experience that this time of day is the small cafe's peak period and rush hour._

" _Would you like some company? I've got a spare seat at my table. Even if you just want to sit there silently, sometimes it's nice to not feel so alone."_

 _With the briefest glance in his direction, JB just nods, barely seeing his kind smile of acknowledgement before she follows after him in the direction that the stranger leads her, over to his nearby table in the middle of the cafe._

 _Taking a seat opposite where he had his laptop set up and some papers sprawled out, the blonde man busily neatens up the table and sets his work aside as JB speaks up._

" _For the record, I'm_ _ **not**_ _a damsel in distress. I'm just having a really, really bad day and I left my money at home to make matters worse."_

 _The man sitting across from her just nods in understanding with another small smile._

" _Not for a second did I think that you were."_

 _This time, it's JB who gives him a small smile as she nips at her lip, realising that she has spent the entire time keeping her guard up and being on the defensive that she hadn't even genuinely thanked the stranger for his one good deed, followed by another as a result of her own pride._

" _Thanks anyway, Casey. For the drink_ _ **and**_ _the seat."_

 _Watching the man from across the other side of the table, the younger girl feels a thrill as she watches the way his face puzzles with confusion, knowing that she's caught him off-guard._

" _Mind reader, too?" Casey just returns curiously after she'd seemed to pluck his name out of thin air correctly._

 _With a small giggle as she takes a sip from her own hot chocolate, JB leaves him to puzzle over it for a few moments before she explains as she points to the cup in front of him with the side bearing black texta facing her._

" _No, just literate."_

" _Ah... The complete package..."_

 _Using JB's tactic, Casey glances at her own cup before she has the chance to spin it around to face herself._

" _JB? Is your name_ _ **really**_ _JB or did you say your name's Amy or Bethany or Emily and that's just what name they thought you'd said? You know what coffee shops can be like..."_

" _Well they got it right for once..." JB confirms, glancing away awkwardly at the mention of her name that she's never loved, even after pushing for her nickname of choice to the best of her ability._

 _Casey just nods, watching the girl on the other side of the table before a puzzled look sets on his face as he speaks up with a string of guesses._

" _JB, hey...? Is it short for something? Justin Bieber? Justin-e Bieber? James Bond? Jukebox? Jellybeans?"_

 _He watches the way she snorts at his first suggestions, followed by amusement for the ones that follow until he sees the change on her face after his last guess._

" _No way... It's Jellybeans, isn't it? Gee, your parents must have loved you... I'm kidding, it's a sweet name... Literally."_

 _JB just scoffs after Casey's reaction, his sarcasm and then the more genuine remark that follows it. After all, she's not really been paying attention to what he'd said in that moment. Rather, she is rolling her eyes at the mention of her parents, feeling the sting of the reminder of her conversation with her father earlier today and that's not even factoring in her mother who she'd left a little over a week ago._

" _You really don't even know the half of it..." JB begins with a sigh in reference to her parents before she continues speaking and confirming Casey's guess._

" _But yeah, would you believe me if I said that 'Jellybean Jones' is actually the better option to my full name?"_

 _Most of what JB has just said to Casey goes missed aside from the one detail that stands out to him, which he questions her further on._

" _Jones... Hey, you wouldn't happen to know Jughead, would you?"_

 _Casey's question causes JB to freeze, going completely still in surprise as she tries to determine where his question is coming from and even more so,_ _ **how**_ _he knows Jughead. Could he be an old classmate or a colleague of his? Is it a good thing or a bad thing that he knows him? Does he know her dad then, too?_

 _Either way, JB can tell that there are quite a few years between herself and the man that she's sitting across from and she fears that revealing that truth could -for whatever reason- end this, whatever 'this'_ _ **is**_ _, before it even begins. All she knows is that she's enjoying his company and she isn't about to let her family intervene,_ _ **again**_ _._

 _After all, if they can keep so many things from her for so many years, then she feels just as entitled to do the very same thing in return which the deciding factor as she makes her snap decision, replying to Casey's question._

" _Jughead? Wow... What a name._ _ **I**_ _don't feel so bad now, after all. But no sorry, I don't know the guy."_

 _Every part of JB is wanting to enquire further with something along the lines of 'but how do_ _ **you**_ _know him?' However, she knows that this is only going to raise suspicions and alarm bells at her sudden interest over who is supposedly a complete and total stranger._

 _Instead, JB decides to direct the conversation in a very leading, very obvious direction. But, without an answer on the matter for certain, she can feel herself holding herself back when she doesn't_ _ **really**_ _want to be..._

" _So... Does your partner mind you shouting random girl's drinks and offering to let them sit with you?"_

 _Seeing through the leading question that they both know has one very clear objective, Casey just chuckles, shaking his head._

" _Well, I should hope not considering we've been broken up for about six months now."_

 _JB can't help the little smile that spreads across her lips before she asks the next question a little nosily, digging a little deeper._

" _What happened? She's not lying face-down in a ditch somewhere is she?"_

" _Close; I left her face-up... No, it was a pretty amicable breakup. She was loyal, but I knew that she was in love with someone else."_

 _After an initial chuckle at the first part of his response, JB then winces as she releases an elongated 'ouch...'_

" _Yeah..." Casey nods, his head ducking down to the table for a moment before he meets her brown eyes again. "But it was for the best. So, what about you?"_

" _Not too long ago there was a guy. But, it turned out that I was a whole lot more invested in our relationship than he was. Things got messy, he bailed and he broke my heart."_

" _Ouch yourself..."_

 _JB just nods before she exhales a little sigh. She's looking away as she slides her cup further away from her on the table, suddenly losing any appetite she had just minutes earlier._

 _In pushing her cup away, she hadn't realised his own hands were so close as they clutched his own cup on the table where she has just slid her own._

 _At first, the outer skin of their hands just brushes against each others, ever so lightly. Like the flicker of a new flame from the spark of a newly lit match, at first it stuns them, even a little out of fright. However, before long they quickly grow accustomed to and even transfixed with the warmth of that little flicker, neither moving their hands._

 _With her hands on the table in front of her, Casey's thumb that had been holding his cup nearby reaches out and gently, ever so slowly begins to comfortingly stroke the skin of her hand with the pad of his thumb in the silence between them. They stay like this, each daring themselves to push the moment as far as they can take it, for as long as they can without crossing the silent, unwritten line that stands between two relative strangers._

 _Then, as her big, brown eyes look to him from across the table, JB takes a deep breath, not flinching from her gaze on him as she sends him a small, yet grateful, smile before she takes a leap and furthers their touch, taking his entire hand into her own as she threads her fingers between his._

 _Then, after a few minutes of hand-holding and gentle hand-stroking, Casey slowly pulls his hands away from hers with a heavy sigh._

" _Look, Jellybean Jones, you seem like a great girl... But I'll be honest with you. I know my dashing looks are_ _ **probably**_ _blinding you but I'm pretty sure that I'm a whole lot older than you are. I've really enjoyed meeting you today and chatting with you but as far as leagues go, I think my age throws me_ _ **way**_ _out of yours."_

 _JB is instantly hit with a sledgehammer of disappointment. However, before long she finds herself pricking up and disputing the other man's excuse with a reason, clinging onto hope. She never has been the kind to give up without a fight._

" _I'm older than I look."_

 _Casey gives her a questioning look. After all, he knows that while he's approaching his mid-thirties, he would have guessed that the girl sitting across from him would have barely even entered her twenties, if she even had at all._

" _Oh yeah?"_

 _JB hesitates at the two words that she's set herself up for. After all, he's right. She would have guessed and approximated Casey to be in his early thirties so he is correct in saying there are quite a few years between them. So, in another snap decision, JB takes another leap just as she had when she took his hand into hers a few moments ago, deciding to spike her own age up by a good few years._

" _Yeah, I'm twenty-four. I always get that I look young for my age."_

 _As soon as the words spring from her lips, JB cringes at herself on the inside a little. After all, did she_ _ **really**_ _think that she could pass as being older than her older brother?_

" _Geez, you do look young for your age. I would have guessed you were late teens to very early twenties. But, even still there are quite a few years between us, JB..."_

" _Well I'm early_ _ **enough**_ _twenties... Why does it matter even? Does age seriously matter to you...?"_

" _It doesn't matter to me, but I thought it may have mattered to_ _ **you**_ _."_

" _Trust me, Casey; it doesn't. I can make my own mind up. I have spent my entire life having what I know and what I do be decided for me so I think I'm quite entitled to make my own decisions with my own life."_

 _With making her decision clear for herself and despite Casey's attempt to diffuse things for her own sake, JB doesn't let up, reaching out and taking his hand that had left hers into her own again, ever so gently._

 _JB_ _ **knows**_ _that she should say something._

 _She should nip this, whatever 'this' is in the bud, or she should saying something, about her age, about her family, about everything, but she just can't find it in her to say anything more than the words that come from her lips that are only going to entangle her deeper into the web that she's creating for herself..._

" _Now, it looks like you need a refill so are you going to let me shout you a refill that you'll need to buy with your own money?"_

#

Instantly after leaving _Pop's_ , JB heads for Betty's apartment where she's been staying for the last few months.

Her plan is to just throw some clothes into her bag from where she'd been temporarily living in her niece's room. However, upon storming through the front door, she hadn't realised that her brother was over, looking after his daughter in her and his girlfriend's home.

So, when the door the bursts open abruptly, a frown instantly creases Jughead's face as he speaks up in a loud whisper from where he's been preoccupying himself with reading a crime book he'd found on Betty's shelves.

"Shhh! Bailey's having a nap."

However, as soon as JB looks back at her brother who is laying back on the lounge, Jughead sees the tears that are dampening her cheeks glassily as they streak down from her reddening eyes.

"Hey, hey... What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Not taking a step further, JB just starts to shake her head, rasping for air as she tries to breathe through her tears.

Instantly, Jughead puts his book down and races up to be by JB's side, opening his arms to her as she collapses into his chest.

The brother and sister stay like this for a few minutes as he hugs her in his arms, running his hand up and down her back as he holds her against him comfortingly, trying to console her through her visible distress.

Then, finally, she looks up to him with her tear-filled brown eyes, speaking up in a shaking voice.

"I think Betty's having an affair... I think she's cheating on you, Juggie."

Jughead's face pricks with hurt at first. It's his worst nightmare and here his little sister is uttering the words that he'd never wanted to hear and had earnestly hoped that he never _would_.

However, after a few moments of being absolutely sidelined by shock, Jughead comes to his senses and realigns with the fact that he knows Betty, he trusts her and he has faith in her and her commitment to him.

"No... _No_ , she was going out to see her ex. He'd just asked to meet up with her. I knew about that. She's not cheating. She wouldn't."

Just months earlier, Jughead had no belief in himself or that anyone would stand by him.

He didn't believe that he was worthy of that sort of loyalty and that sort of love, not him. He was always waiting to be disappointed, to be passed up and to take second place. He would be the _first_ person to believe it.

Not now...

Standing there in his girlfriend's home, he's secure, he's safe and he's loved within the family that he has found himself in with the love of his life and their beautiful little girl. He trusts in that and he trusts in _her_.

He trusts in the fact that she's _not_ just ready and waiting to disappoint him too and move on, like he'd spent so many years of his life expecting from anyone he dared to grow close to.

"No, you're _wrong_ , JB. Betty wouldn't do that... She wouldn't do that to me. There's got to be an explanation."

Despite the conviction in her brother's voice, JB's brown eyes grow wider as she takes in the detail that her boyfriend is Betty's _ex_ with her own shock only prompting her to shake her head.

She's hurt. She's confused. She's lost. She feels the flurry of emotions for herself, for her brother, for everything that she thought she knew and for the walls of security that were building up around her, only to feel like it's all too good to be true.

And, in her mess of hurt and confusion that leaves her feeling like everything is crumbling down around her, the foolish young girl only _tightens_ the web of lies that are closing in on her...

"They weren't just talking. I saw them kissing at _Pop's_."

Another lie... Another web... Another knot tightens.

And, like a kamikaze, JB is bringing everyone and everything down with her...

#

After her version of events that she'd left her brother with, JB quickly hurried out of Betty's apartment, heading back to the diner to confront the two particular patrons that had triggered the domino effect earlier that day.

Then, storming into the diner again with a ring of the overhead bell, JB doesn't stop in the doorway this time. No, instead she storms right on over to the former lovers who are laughing together as Betty recounts a recent story of her daughter that she's sharing with Casey.

"Hey you..."

Betty watches the way that Casey's face lights up with the arrival of the brunette who has just approached their table. It startles Betty to see the love and familiarity on his face at the young girl who she knows well, too.

After all, until just a few minutes earlier, Betty had no idea that they even _knew_ each other, let alone that they were in a serious relationship.

However, within moments of JB approaching their table, both Casey and Betty are able to see the remnants of her hurt and pain that she'd released as she cried to her brother after seeing them there just a little earlier.

"What is _this_? You two going behind my back? Behind mine _and_ Jughead's backs?"

JB looks between the two sitting at the booth who both instantly begin to speak up, trying to explain the misunderstanding that, like wind to a house of cards, is crumbling down everything that the younger girl knew and believed.

However, before either Betty or Casey can get two words out, JB is speaking up, willing the tears that she can feel pricking the corners of her eyes not to fall as she crosses her arms in front of her strongly.

" _No_. No, I don't want to hear it. I can't believe it... I thought you loved me, Casey. I trusted that you actually _meant_ that. And Betty, I trusted you. I trusted you more than I trust almost anyone else in the world."

JB points between the two of them as she speaks up with her voice growing louder and louder as she grows more and more distressed from where she's standing at the end of the booth, feeling as though she's just witnessed the ultimate betrayal.

"Hey, hey, hey... It's okay. I was actually meeting up with Betty to tell her about _you_. I didn't mention anything before now because I didn't even realise that you two know each other."

Betty can see the tears that are beginning to well up in her boyfriend's younger sister's brown eyes as she stands there, pointing between herself and her ex-boyfriend as she gets more and more worked up, refusing to listen to any argument to contrary as they both attempt to interject, only to be hushed as JB continues speaking.

"No... _No_. Why didn't you tell me that you two were together? Were you _trying_ to make me feel like a fool? Because, finding out that your boyfriend was with the girl who's the closest person you've ever had to a sister without either of you telling me about it did the job. _Well done_."

JB's thinking is completely flawed and her reaction is overdramatic.

However, with her heart involved after falling in love for one of the very first times in her life in her life, deeper than she'd even known to be possible, JB is blinded by her own hurt and jealousy. And, all she can see is not only her world but also her future being pulled away from beneath her as it seemingly crumbles down around her in her own eyes...

Seeing as words and counter-arguments are clearly not working with the eighteen-year-old, Betty glances up when she sees the movement on the other side of the table, noticing not only the agitation but also the concern on Casey's face as he reaches out to the fuming young girl who just brushes him off at his attempts to comfort her physically this time.

And, right when Betty thinks she's almost at the point of _expecting_ the unexpected, with his face filled with concern for the brunette, Casey delivers the whopper that Betty still hadn't seen coming. After all, he hadn't known that it was just yet _another_ secret that his girlfriend had been selectively concealing from some of the people that she is closest to...

"Come here, sit down and let me explain. This doesn't change anything. I can explain all of it... Please, just sit down. _Please_. Getting this worked up isn't good for the _baby_..."

* * *

 **I know there were a couple of people who had guessed that Casey & JB were an item, but who saw **_**that**_ **one coming? There had been a couple teeny, tiny, minuscule clues that I'd dropped along the way, especially between Betty & JB's chats, but I didn't hint towards it too obviously at any point. So, Miss Bailey's going to be a big cousin, hey?**

 **Also, don't hate JB! She's not a bad person. She's not evil or malicious and she's not even really intentionally wanting to try to sabotage her brother's relationship. Really, she's just a young girl who is hurt and scared. She's making poor decisions while she's stuck in a frightening situation and desperate in running from her problems.**

 **Meanwhile, check out the character development there for Mr. Jones!**

 **Next chapter:** **JB is caught up within her own web of lies. Then, Betty supports the Jones siblings as they crumble.**


	60. Navigating The Wreckage

**CHAPTER SIXTY – Navigating The Wreckage**

With Betty sitting across from her ex-boyfriend who has just coerced his girlfriend, Jughead's younger sister, to sit beside down on the booth beside him, Casey is oblivious after dropping the bomb that he had no idea had been shared with few people other than himself. Meanwhile, Jellybean looks over to Betty with both girls just as shocked and wide-eyed as each other, gauging each other's reactions.

Then, looking to the girl who is both like a younger sister and a sister-in-law to her, Betty silently searches her for the truth, looking for confirmation that comes in the form of a heartbreaking glance away with JB unable to keep her tear-filled brown eyes on her.

In that moment, seeing the fear and guilt on the scared, young eighteen-year-old's face, Betty knows the truth, knowing that she had worn that very same look five years ago, too.

But more than that, so many other little moments make sense. All the times that Betty had put it down to girl-talk when JB would be probing her for details and quizzing her about her own pregnancy, her experience on doing it alone and her decision to keep her daughter, it all clicks into place, leaving Betty shocked that she hadn't picked up on it _before_ now.

Yet, it still shocks Betty, freezing her in place for long enough for the brimming tears that JB had been holding in and holding back like the tide to be released and let free, cascading down her cheeks as she scoots out of the booth just as quickly as she had sunk into it, quickly racing off and racing out, leaving without a second thought.

"You didn't know, did you?"

Casey asks Betty from across the table. After all, he too is trying to piece together who knows what, given the fact that his ex-girlfriend and JB have turned out to know each other a whole lot better than he had ever realised.

Betty just shakes her head as both she and Casey begin to scoot out of the booth, both wanting to go after the distraught younger girl who had just left them both moments ago until Betty presses a hand out on the table between them.

Then, without even waiting around for him to speak up, Betty gets up and begins to race off and after JB who Betty will soon discover had managed to get herself to around the corner and just out-of-view before she had collapsed down, with Betty uttering just a few words before she goes...

"It's okay, Case. Stay here. I'll go."

#

It only takes Betty a matter of minutes before she sees, or _hears_ -to be perfectly honest- the young girl, finding her crouched down around the corner and holding herself as she sobs.

Betty's heart breaks for Jughead's younger sister, seeing her and seeing her distress, knowing all too well the feelings, the fears and the inner-distress that are propelling that level of upset.

So, Betty immediately crouches down beside her, wrapping an arm around her, holding her close, as she rubs her hand up and down her back consolingly, whispering into the younger girl's hair.

"It's okay... You're okay... Everything's going to be okay..."

Betty knows how futile simply _hearing_ those words is, yet she still finds herself repeating them over to the younger girl with the hope that one of these times she'll hear it and believe it.

The two of them stay like this for the longest time, until Betty eventually begins to hear the sobs subside and her sniffles become fewer and further between.

Then, when Betty feels like JB's ready, she begins to pull away from her -just a little- in order to look down at her, tucking a loose piece of hair away from her face as continues to run a consoling hand up and down her arm.

"If you want to get things off your chest, I'm here for you, completely judgement-free. After all, Bailey was already _one_ by the time that I was your age..."

"You shouldn't be here, making me feel better... I was literally accusing you of cheating about ten minutes ago."

Angling herself away from the blonde, the way that JB feebly tries to push Betty away, despite her hurt reminds Betty _so_ much of the girl's older brother, believing that he's not worthy of love and care, even in his lowest moments.

So, Betty just gives JB a small smile, followed by a feigned quizzical look.

While she doesn't yet know the extent of the younger woman's lies and tales, Betty sympathises for her boyfriend's sister, relating to her situation and her fear at a similar point in her own life a few years back, inclining her to extend the empathy to her that she does.

"Oh, were you? I don't think I caught you saying that... I don't remember hearing it."

Betty's words give the younger girl the courage to look up at her appreciatively. They both know that Betty had heard those words and they both know that she is choosing to scrub the slate clean, as though it had never even happened.

Then, as soon as JB's relief from Betty's forgiveness subsides, she is once again plagued by her fear as her lip begins to tremble.

"Oh, I don't know what I was thinking... I've messed everything up, Betty. I've been stringing along lie after lie, giving different stories to different people. And, now that is all catching up with me..."

Continuing to run a comforting hand up and down JB's arm, Betty cannot help the way that her face creases in confusion over what JB is trying to say and her lack of understanding of that.

"What do you mean, hun?"

With another sob, followed by a deep breath and a sniffle, JB can't bring herself to look Betty in the eye as she tries to utter the complicated truth, for the first time.

"I'm lying to everyone."

Betty's confusion only grows at hearing the answer to the question that she'd raised, hoping that it would _dispel_ her confusion. Then, stealing the briefest glance in Betty's direction, JB utters a few more words that still do nothing to clarify Betty's understanding of what the younger girl is trying to tell her.

"No one knows the truth..."

Looking to JB curiously, Betty speaks up in little more than a whisper as she continues to rub the upset teenager's arm comfortingly, growing more and more confused as to what she is alluding to.

"What do you mean? What _is_ the truth then?"

JB's glance flickers to Betty and for the briefest moment she believes that she is about to divulge the information that she is withholding. But, that's until she begins to shake her head, thinking twice before she utters her secrets and lies now that her house of cards is coming crumbling down.

"No, no I can't... It'll change things with everyone... With Jughead, my dad... With _Casey_."

It hurts Betty seeing the incredibly feisty, bold young girl who is like a younger sister to her crumbling and breaking down in front of her. Yet, Betty still gives her the advice that she may not necessarily want to hear, but the advice that she thinks the teenager _needs_ in that moment.

"Whatever it is, JB, the longer you avoid the truth, then the harder it's going to be to come clean, and, by the sounds of it, the truth _will_ need to come out sooner or later. Your dad and Jughead, love you; they want the best for you. As hard as it may be to hear in the beginning, they don't want you to feel the need to hide things from them. As for Casey, if the two of you are having a baby with each other, then you need to be able to trust each other _completely_."

Then, trustingly, JB looks to the woman sitting beside her, knowing that even though she may not have been successfully persuaded to reveal the entire truth to _everyone_ , she does need to get the whole story off her chest and she honestly couldn't find a better person than Betty to do so with.

"Casey's _not_ the baby's father... He knows that."

Meanwhile, not for the first time today, Betty is thrown by the words coming from the lips of the girl sitting beside her. Seeing this, JB takes a deep breath, swiping at her damp eyes as she tries to muster up the courage to begin at the very beginning of what had branched off into so many different directions with so many different lies...

"I fell pregnant before I left Toledo. My study partner and I had been doing a whole lot _more_ than studying together... I thought I loved him. But, when I told him about the pregnancy, he didn't even flinch when he said he wants to be a lawyer, not a father. He said that it would end his life and his career. He said he didn't want to have anything to do with me or the baby if I chose to have it."

Betty's face falls for the young girl who has carried so much more weight on her shoulders than she had ever let on about, especially when since her arrival she has only ever floated around like a carefree bubble of fun.

After all, the pain Betty had felt in the shock-fueled moment when Jughead had initially walked off from her after he found out about Bailey's existence had been hard enough, even when he was back trying to apologise profusely just later on that day. Betty can't even _imagine_ the feeling of the father of her child knowingly _choosing_ to walk out of their lives forever.

"Oh JB... I'm sorry" Betty murmurs as her arms fall around the younger girl, wrapping her in a warm hug at what she has just divulged. "I can't even imagine how hard that would be for you..."

With a sigh, JB just shrugs her brother's girlfriend's sympathy off.

"It's my own fault."

The older girl disputes the younger one's statement, not only reasoning with her but then also going on to console her through her situation.

"Only as much as it is _his_ , too... You deserve to be supported, JB. And, you _will_ be supported. You've got me. And, while I imagine your dad and Jughead are probably going to take this pretty hard and it may take them a little bit of time to wrap their heads around the idea, I _know_ you'll have them in your court, too. I'm speaking from experience."

Betty concludes her words of reassurance with a smile, followed by a kind and consoling squeeze of JB's hand.

While this seems to be a temporary fix for just a mere moment for JB as the smallest of smiles tugs in the corner of her lips, it is short-lived before another realisation strikes the younger of the two.

"There's more to it though... Look, don't get me wrong, coming back here and seeing my dad and Jug _was_ a priority for me, but there was more to it than _just_ a visit. You see, my mum found out about the baby just before I left... She said she'd kick me out if I was planning on keeping it and then she did."

As Betty's green eyes watch the younger girl beside her, listening to all that she is telling her as she divulged her secrets she's keeping, her eyes soften even more, sympathising for the teenager who had never let on about any of her woes.

"I'm so sorry, JB... I don't know what else to say..."

JB just sniffles, shaking her head to herself as she begins to chuckle about the fact that is anything _but_ funny.

"I was so angry when I heard that mum had turned away you and Bailey, too, and that it wasn't just an empty threat that she was making. But, you know what's the funny thing? I hadn't even been planning to keep the baby. When I left Toledo, I'd been convinced I'd give it up after it was born. I'd made my mind up. That would have sufficed for my mum, but I honestly just didn't want to hang around with her thinking that she could dictate my decisions and threaten me into what I decided. So, I lied and told her that I was going to keep the baby just to spite her and she kicked me out."

JB's words come as yet another shock to the woman sitting beside her. After all, Betty well knows that three pathways are typically brought along with pregnancy. And, while _she_ had insistently chosen one, choosing what was right for herself by choosing to keep and raise her daughter from such a young age, Betty almost naively forgets that that is not the _only_ choice that everyone makes when faced with the same predicament.

"So you're not going to keep the baby?"

Betty's words trigger another sigh to sound from the younger girl. It comes as a result of the weight of the burdens that are building up on her chest, weighing her down.

"I wasn't going to. I'd convinced myself of my decision to give the baby up after birth. But, after getting here, seeing you, meeting Bailey, seeing your bond with each other and hearing what _you'd_ gotten through and came out the other end of, it made me reassess my decision. I think you and your example changed my mind, Betty. I've decided I'm going to keep the baby... Well, I'm going to give it my best at least."

JB's hand falls to the typically loose and bulky jumper that she is wearing. However, this time the pressure of her hand outlines the tell-tale bump to the younger girl's stomach that Betty hadn't noticed before now through the loose clothing, the big jackets, the loose-fitting layers and the bulky sweaters that she'd typically adorn herself in.

"How far along are you?"

"Almost five months..."

"Wow… _No way"_ Betty murmurs, her shock taking her breath away. "You are _tiny_. I still can't believe it."

At Betty's reaction and her disbelief, the smallest of smile lingers on JB's lips for just a few moments before a heavy sigh dispels it. JB almost feels a little thrill at feeling like she'd succeed in her quest. However, that feeling is very quickly replaced by remembering the reality of her situation and the middle of the maze that she has found herself in, with no one but herself to blame.

Meanwhile, as she remembers about her meeting earlier that day that triggered this whole situation, Betty then raises another question to the younger girl curiously.

"So Casey knows that you were already pregnant before you got together?"

With her brown eyes glancing over in the direction of the diner that both she and Betty had come from minutes earlier, JB just nods a little sadly.

" _Yeah_. Meeting him had _not_ been a part of the plan... At first, it was fun and light, just flirting. Knowing I was pregnant I felt like I couldn't let myself get involved in anything serious. But, we kept flirting and it kept going on and I just didn't want it to end. I started falling in love with him, Betty…"

JB releases a sigh after trailing off, finding herself pressing a hand to her belly that now that she no longer needs to hide, she can barely bring herself to stop touching as she continues to explain to the woman beside her.

"But, I knew it wasn't fair when he was signing up for _me_ , not for _us_. So, after a month or so of seeing each other, I explained that I was pregnant and I told him I'd understand if he wanted to leave it at that. He asked about the whole situation and whether there was any chance of me reconciling with the baby's father. I explained that even if he changed his mind on the baby, it wouldn't change things with _me_. I cared about him, I loved him and he'd walked out on us just like that. I couldn't go back from that and I wouldn't want to. That wasn't the sort of person that I'd fallen for."

As JB finishes explaining she pauses, allowing a genuine smile to fill her lips as she reflects back to the events of weeks ago.

"Then, not long after that, the best thing happened. It felt too good to be true... He offered to raise the baby with me."

Betty smiles at the generous heart of the man who had not only given her so much but had been willing to give so much _more_. She's glad that the young girl who needs that love and care more than her is being showered with it.

It's awkward, but it's _right_.

However, JB's smile is quickly followed by a sting of pain as her face scrunches up.

"And now I've gone and screwed absolutely everything up… I told Casey the truth about the baby, but I was lying to him about other things."

At the change of course in the conversation, along with JB's latest admission, Betty frowns as her forehead creases with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"The day we met, I wasn't expecting that things would end up the way that they have in the slightest... I told him lie after lie that day, the day we met."

Betty just stays silent. She doesn't even know where to begin with the questions that are flooding her mind. Instead, she just sits there frowning with confusion as she waits for her to explain, just as JB continues to do so.

"I told him that I am much older than I am. I knew that he was a bit older than me and I thought he wouldn't be interested -not even to sit there and chat- if I'd been honest about my age. And, when I mentioned my surname he asked if I was related to Jug. I lied and said I didn't even know him just because I didn't know how _he_ knew Jughead… Casey's not going to believe anything else I say, Betty..."

Still trying to wrap her head around the events of the day and the bombshells that had been dropped along with it, Betty just squeezes the younger girl's hand again, doing her best to reassure her.

"Look, Casey is a good man, JB. Be honest with him, tell him the truth. That's the best thing that you can do from here otherwise that hole that you're digging for yourself is just going to keep getting deeper and deeper and that's not fair on either of you. He's a good guy."

JB just nods somberly, taking a deep breath and knowing that as she's made her bed, now she must lie in it.

"I know I need to tell him... I'm just worried that it's going to end us. I know it's my own stupid fault, but I don't want that..."

Betty nods understandingly, wrapping an arm around the younger girl like a big sister carrying the younger through a tough time supportively, knowing that she'll get through it from her own experience.

"No matter what happens from here you'll be okay, JB..."

At Betty's words of reassurance, JB just smiles. Sure, it's a little forced but she is grateful for both Betty and her support.

After the brief pause, Betty continues to speak, telling the younger girl more of exactly what she does _not_ want to hear, but what she needs to.

"You need to tell Casey everything, JB. But, you also need to tell your dad and Jughead about the baby. They'll understand why you came over here if your mum kicked you out. You need to prepare yourself because I can bet that they're going to find the news a little hard to swallow at first, but _again_ , I promise you that they will get over it and at the end of the day they'll be there for you."

Will there is a glimmer of hope in her eyes as she looks up to Betty with the smallest of smiles, JB's expression is very quickly replaced with a frown, followed by a pained sigh.

"I'm sorry for all the lies and not saying earlier, Betty. But, I'm even more sorry for accusing you and Casey of cheating. I was confused and hormonal and I felt like my world was crumbling. Funnily enough, it turns out that the way my world has come crashing down is all my own fault... But, I really am sorry, Betty. You've done so much to support me and I threw that back in your face. Thank you for everything. Not only for everything you've done but also for everything you've said."

Giving the younger girl a little squeeze of her arm, Betty's expression is warm and kind as she speaks to Jughead's sister.

"Don't mention it."

Then, looking up after a few moments, Betty spots a familiar blonde man walking slowly and beginning to approach the two of them, finding herself watching the looks that the girl sitting beside and the man nearing them exchange, before giving JB a little nudge of encouragement.

"And, look who's coming over to see you..."

However, with Casey rapidly approaching them, the look on JB's face after the glances they'd exchanged quickly sours to sorrow as she whispers to Betty, confiding in her.

"How the hell am I supposed to do this? I need to tell him..."

Giving JB's hand a final squeeze of reassurance before getting up from where she'd been crouched down beside her, Betty helps her to her feet as Casey approaches, his arms open to JB.

While, just like much of today, Betty is still trying to wrap her head around the concept of the two being a couple, she can't help but smile as she witnesses Jughead's sister collapse into Casey's arms, melting into the safety he provides her as he whispers into her hair reassuringly, despite the tears that are beginning to fill her eyes at her fear that all of that love and safety and security is about to be brutally ripped away from her.

Then, just as Betty is beginning to walk off and leave the two of them to it, JB remembers one of her most recent lies that she'd used in a desperate attempt to add weight to her fears that her mind had been working overtime on, stopping Betty before she leaves.

"Betty, you might want to go and see Jughead…"

Taking a moment to pause before she continues to speak, JB looks between both Betty and Casey before gaze lands to the ground beneath her.

"I'm so sorry to both you and Case but after I saw you two at the diner and when I thought that you two were cheating, I went and saw Jughead… When he wasn't as worried as I was when I said that you two were together, I told him that you were kissing."

Both Betty and Casey's faces drop as they look to each other and then back to the ashamed young woman standing in front of them.

Little does Casey know that that's only the very _beginning_.

Meanwhile, Betty's face falls and her heart immediately begins to race as she leaves the fractured couple with just five words and without a second thought.

"I need to see, Jug."

#

Rushing back to her home and letting herself in, Betty is quick to find Jughead pacing around the room as she hears what she believes to be ' _Beauty and the Beast'_ playing in the following room.

"Hey..." Betty says, sounding a little frantic as she rushes across the room to be by his side as she lays a supportive hand to his back. "Hey, are you okay?"

As she watches her boyfriend with her hand on his back she can feel his erratic, shallow breathing me. At first he ignores her touch, continuing to pace around the room.

It had all been triggered after JB told Jughead that she thought that Betty was cheating on him when he knew that she was going out to see Casey. At first, Jughead had outright _refused_ the possibility, telling her that she was wrong and that there was no way that Betty would be cheating on him.

However, as soon as JB had stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door shut that woke Bailey up in the process, the idea of Betty cheating on him slowly began to spread like poison, infecting his conviction in their relationship and reverting to his basically non-existent self-confidence; his belief that he's not enough and that everyone who is in his life are only waiting around to walk out of it.

Then, as he was cuddling Bailey, trying to help her wake up a little more easily after the abrupt door-slam woke her up, Jughead did his best to suppress his own churning fears and silence the voice in his head telling him that: _JB's right, Betty is cheating, how could she have ever loved him and how could he think that she would, before her leaving._ However, as soon as Bailey seemed to brighten up and wake up properly, Jughead offered to put a movie on, trying to manage his own feelings, his racing heart, his shallow breaths and his conviction that _now_ was the time for him to prepare himself to lose Betty.

His own mind was his undoing.

"Jug, talk to me. Please. Your sister told me what she told you... Please let me explain this."

She can tell he's drowning, being pulled under by his own thoughts, and it's breaking her heart in the process, seeing him like that.

She wants to just pull him into her arms and she just wants to hold him, but she's worried that forced touch will only further his distress as he battles with his anxieties plaguing him.

"I should have expected it" he starts to murmur, muttering to himself as he continues to pace around the room anxiously. "I should have believed her all along. I told her she was wrong. I told her that we were good. I should have known... It's my problem, not yours."

Jughead's speech is fast and mumbled and while Betty can't quite understand every word that he's saying, she still gets the idea of what he's saying and how he's feeling.

So, to try and snap her boyfriend out of his own head, Betty speaks up from across the room, trying to give him the space he needs as she watches him closely and intently waiting for a single indication that she should step in and that he needs the physical support from her that he's been pushing away.

"She was lying, Jug. I've just been with JB... She saw Casey and I, she got jealous and she lied to you to make you feel as concerned as she was. All we did was talk, about his new girlfriend."

The shock-factor from Betty's words seems to jolt Jughead from his thinking, stopping him from spiraling further and further down and out. It causes him to stop pacing, standing still on the spot as he is focused on trying to catch up with what his girlfriend's telling him.

"Casey and..." Jughead begins, trailing off before Betty finishes the sentence that both he and Betty know the answer to.

"JB...? _Yeah_. Crazy, isn't it?"

Realising that she seems to have managed to break the cycle of his pacing, Betty tries to take a few steps closer towards him, sensing that _now_ is the time for her to reduce the space between them, showing her support for him in another way.

"I'm so sorry that JB triggered this for you, Jug, but, there is absolutely nothing left there with Casey. Not only is there nothing left there, but even if there was, I wouldn't cheat. You are not second best, Jughead... You are the love of my life. I had my chance with Casey but I loved _you_ while I was with _him_."

Betty's gentle words of reassurance seem to work for the time being as she moves closer and closer to her boyfriend, reaching out for his hand, giving it a squeeze after he allows her to take it before she reaches her hand up to stroke the side of his face.

"I love you, Jughead Jones. I love _you_. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Her words as she strokes the side of his face lovingly seems to allow Jughead to finally _breathe_ ; to inhale the air that his body had been rejecting ever since the visit from his sister which left him pacing around, little by little drowning in the lies of the day.

Another deep breath later and Jughead is seeing with more clarity as his pounding heart slows down just a little and he swipes at his dampening eyes, taking another deep breath as Betty leads him over to the bench where she takes a seat beside him.

Betty continues to sit there in silence for a few minutes as he gets his breathing under control while she continues to rub his back soothingly, not all that differently to how she had been to JB just an hour earlier.

Then, through the silence as Jughead works through his panic with Betty by his side, she eventually speaks up -in little more than a whisper- with a warm smile on her face.

"I'm _so_ proud of you, babe..."

From where he's slouched against the bench top, Jughead steals a glance of confusion over in Betty's direction, trying to understand where her remark is coming from. She sees the look on his face, prompting her to continue speaking.

"You're making progress... You said that you pushed back on the idea when JB first said something to you. You said you refused to believe it. Just think, the Jughead of a few months ago probably wouldn't have done that. He would have been _waiting_ to hear that, not disputing it when he did. Think about it, babe. Only a few hours before we made a baby together, the Jughead on that very same night was _convinced_ that I really wanted Archie over him… It is a thought that is so deeply ingrained in you, Jug, yet you pushed back against that thought today."

Betty trails off as Jughead thinks over her words, not having seen or realised her point until she had put it to him in that manner.

"I'm so proud of you, Jug" she says as she smiles affectionately, continuing to rub her hand up and down her boyfriend's back consolingly.

The two of them stay like this, sitting in silence as they hear the songs and dialogue of ' _Beauty and the Beast'_ as their daughter watches it for the umpteenth time in the next room over.

Then, finally, Betty speaks up in little more than a whisper as her emerald eyes lock on her boyfriend in concern.

"Are we good?"

Jughead pauses for a few moments before he eventually leans over to her, pressing a single kiss to her lips before he answers her question.

"We're good."

As she presses her hand to the side of his face tenderly, Betty is looking at her boyfriend with an expression filled with love as she gives him a warm, reassuring smile that he can't help but reciprocate.

" _Good_ , because we're better than that, Jug... We're stronger than to let that get to us."

* * *

 **Sorry this one's up a little later than usual. It was a total pain to get this one polished. Honestly, I think this particular chapter has been in the process of being chopped, changed and modified over the course of about six weeks now! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the end result.**

 **Thank you so very much to everyone who left feedback on the last chapter.**

 **Next chapter: JB comes clean to her dad and her brother. Then, Jughead & Betty's world takes a life-changing turn.**


	61. Breaking The News

**CHAPTER SIXTY ONE – Breaking The News**

The day following the mess of JB's tangled web of secrets and lies being unveiled began with Betty waking to realise that she'd overslept.

Trailing out of her bedroom at 10:30 in her pajamas, Betty's heart is thumping nervously after waking to an empty space in the bed beside her that has been occupied by her four-year-old for the last few weeks, having not even felt her wake up or get out of bed that morning. The only consolation to her nervousness that is stopping her from panicking _completely_ is the kid's show that Betty can distantly hear playing out in the lounge room with the slither of common sense that she can maintain telling her that Bailey's most likely just watching TV.

With a sigh of relief, Betty is quick to smile at the scene before her. Bailey is watching TV with her little legs kicked up from where she's laying beside her aunt comfortably. The two are watching the programs together with Bailey's plastic plate, her knife and fork on the table containing her half-eaten eggs and toast.

Then, upon walking into the room, another point that Betty is quick to note is the suddenly visible bump to JB's petite frame that she'd managed to keep concealed beneath loose-fitting clothing and the layers upon layers she has worn over the last few weeks.

Just one day on after coming clean, the young girl seems just a little happier and more relaxed for not having to keep the secret that was not only hidden beneath her shirt, only furthering Betty's smile as she walks over to the girl who is like her sister-in-law who is sitting beside her own daughter.

"Hey you two... I didn't even hear you guys. You didn't even wake me up when you got out of bed, Bailey!"

At first, there's a mischievous little giggle from the four-year-old who takes her mother's remark as a means of measuring success before she replies.

"Good morning, mummy!" Bailey greets sweetly with a smile. However, the little girl's sweetness is followed by a slither of judgement as she continues speaking with a little pout forming on her lips. "You sleep-ded lots and lots and lots this morning, mummy..."

Betty just chuckles at her daughter's exaggeration and judgement that makes it sound as though she'd hibernated for the last six months. However, Betty just drops a kiss to Bailey's blonde locks before she takes a seat down in front of the lounge that she and JB are sharing.

"Morning mummy" JB adds, imitating her niece with a small smile.

Instantly, Bailey's blue eyes that are framed by her tightly furrowed eyebrows fly up to her aunty with a possessive streak.

"She's _my_ mummy, aunty Jeeb."

Tickling her niece in the belly and earning herself a little grin that the four-year-old tries to hide, JB tickles Bailey for a few moments before responding to her and stealing her brother's nickname for his daughter in the process.

"I'm just teasing you, Bay..."

Again, another unhappy little pout spreads across Bailey's face as her eyebrows crease and she crosses her arms in front of her tightly.

" _Daddy_ calls me Bay!"

Biting her lip at her daughter's frustrations, Betty looks over to the brunette young girl, looking for an answer through her amusement only to see JB fighting off a similar look that she's trying to hide.

"Wow, JB... What did you do to earn the frosty treatment?"

Continuing to stifle her amusement and her own laughter at her niece's annoyance that she can't quite take seriously, JB just looks to Betty.

"I didn't let her have the cookies she found for breakfast and made her eggs on toast instead..."

As Bailey looks between the two adults, unimpressed, and fully aware that she is being spoken about, her mother just chuckles at what JB has just said, reaching out to stroke her daughter's golden locks lovingly.

"Ah, I see... Well, that would explain it. She's her father's daughter, this one. Get between her and her food at your own risk..."

JB returns Betty's giggle, looking at her niece with affection as she recalls their morning together and the fun they'd had despite being in little Bailey's bad books before Betty woke up.

"Thanks for looking after her" Betty adds, stealing JB away from her own thoughts to thank her for caring for her daughter and making her breakfast after she'd slept straight through her usual wake up.

JB just gives the older girl a nonchalant shrug. Honestly, she is still incredibly embarrassed after the spectacle that she had made, the way she had accused Betty, the way that her secrets and lies had been exposed and then the fact that despite everything that had happened, it was _Betty_ who was supporting her through it and consoling her.

"I think it was least I could do for you. Honestly, thank you... For yesterday _especially_ , but thank you for everything, really. You have no idea how much respect I have for you, Betty."

Betty just smiles, reaching up from where she's sitting on the ground in front of the lounge where JB and Bailey (who is now absorbed with her TV show again) are sitting. Reaching up, Betty simply squeezes JB's hand reassuringly.

"How are you doing today anyway, JB?"

The younger girl ponders the question for a few moments before she answers it.

"A part of me feels _relieved_ that you and Casey know everything and that you both know the whole story now... He said he's going to need some time to reassess things. I get it. I'd been lying to him about my age and knowing Jughead. I just hope that he's going to be able to forgive me and move past it. But, even though everything is still so far from okay, I do feel a little bit better about the fact that everything is getting closer to the truth..."

Betty nods earnestly, giving the younger girl a small and kind smile of reassurance while JB takes a deep breath and claps her hands down on her lap, as if inciting action.

"But, I need to get back up again. I don't have that much time left before my life's going to be turned upside down again and I still have so much to get in order. I can't just live with my life on hold. It's not just _my_ life anymore."

Once again Betty nods, smiling at the younger girl's resilience as she ties her hair back with the band that is on her wrist.

"Good on you, JB, not letting yourself depend on Casey."

However, Betty's compliment only results in a strange look that fills JB's face with the expression that follows.

"What do you mean? He was my _boyfriend_ , not my carer or a get-out-of-jail-free card... I wasn't with him because I felt like he was making my life easier or for the security of being with him... My baby and my need to make a life for them is _my_ responsibility. That never changed. Sure, it was incredibly kind and giving of Case to offer to support me and fill a gap in my baby's life, but that is not and was not ever the reason I was with him. It's my mess, my responsibility."

Hearing the younger girl's strength and conviction brings the smallest of smiles to Betty's lips. After all, no one knows where things will go from here; not JB and not Betty. However, no matter what may happen for her from here, Betty feels quietly confident that her boyfriend's sister has been developing the resilience and the backbone that Betty knows all too well from experience that she will need.

However, before Betty has a chance to say a single word, Bailey speaks up first after the empathetic little four-year-old must have sensed something in her aunt's breathing or her tone of voice. Neither Betty nor JB knows exactly what it is that must have tipped Bailey off. However, with any residual annoyance from earlier now completely disintegrated, the little girl lays a gentle hand to her aunt's shoulder consolingly.

"It's okay, aunty Jeeb... Bailey will looks after you."

Betty gazes at her daughter with pride while JB clutches at her heart after her niece's words.

However, as Bailey turns her attention back to the TV, Betty exhales a sigh as she looks back over to her boyfriend's sister, her eyes falling to the small baby belly that she had been hiding from not only her but from the rest of her family for the last few weeks, ever since she arrived.

"You need to tell your dad and Jug, JB... Trust me; it's only going to get harder to hide from here on out and the longer that you do hide it, the harder it's going to be to come clean. Like I said, they might take a little bit of time to come around to the idea, but when they do, you'll have their support, 110%."

JB gives Betty a sad smile, glancing down to her own stomach where Betty's gaze is focused on as she too exhales a sigh. After all, she knows that she's right.

However, looking over to the girl who is a role model, an inspiration and like a big sister to her, JB raises another question that's concerning her.

"How did _your_ family take it?"

Glancing over to the light of her life, Betty exhales a small sigh, deliberately keeping her wording and terminology vague in front of her four-year-old.

"Not great... My mum was bitterly disappointed and my dad wouldn't stop referring to the two of us as a mess. And, would you believe that they took it better from _me_ than they did my older sister? She had twins a few months before me... Your dad was good though. As soon as he got out of prison seeing us was the first thing he did."

JB nods, exhaling another small sigh as she looks to her niece and then back to Betty who is sending a warm smile her way.

"As hard as it is, you can't avoid it forever. You need to tell them. Like I said, they'll be okay in time..."

Betty's words just cause JB to release another heavy sigh as she nods silently. Then, watching the younger girl beginning to struggle with her breathing, Betty lowers her voice, continuing to console her comfortingly.

"If you think it'll make it easier for you, I can be there when you tell them, if you want."

JB looks over to Betty, sending her a small, appreciative smile as she remains silent, thinking about the question that she has just posed to her and the generous offer she's made her.

"Thanks Betty... I think dad needs to hear it from me, just between him and I. But, if you'd be happy to, it might be nice to have your support when I tell Jug..."

Nodding instantly at what the younger girl is telling her, Betty sends JB a supportive smile followed by a final squeeze of reassurance her way.

"Tell me when and where you're planning to tell him and I'll find someone to keep an eye on Bailey for a while. I'll be there."

#

After her quiet morning with Betty and Bailey, JB had arranged to meet up with her father later in the day, asking him to take them to the little spot after the bend that overlooks the river.

It had been the place where he'd come clean to _her_ after years and years of secrets and lies had piled up. So, it only felt fitting for it to be the place where she comes clean to _him_ in return...

After weeks of hiding the truth and having the time to consider every, single different way that she _could_ possibly tell her father the news that she's spent all day, every day concealing, JB chooses possibly the most abrupt of them all, springing it on her father while he is still walking over to the bench that JB is already sitting at, ripping the bandaid of in the most unexpected of painful swipes.

"I'm pregnant, dad."

JB can _see_ the visible shock on her father's face. It's almost as though he is startled by the words before he then stops in his tracks, thinking twice with disbelief, as though he must have misheard his daughter or conjured up her words in his own mind.

Not only the _words_ themselves but also JB's _delivery_ of the words had left FP convinced that he'd heard her wrong.

"What'd you say?" FP asks, his face scrunched up with confusion. As he waits for her answer, he's standing there considering what JB could have _possibly_ said for him to interpret it so wrong.

"I _said_ I'm pregnant... Expecting, knocked up, with child, up the duff... Take your pick over which term you prefer but they're all true."

The silence between father and daughter with just metres between them is deafening, even _despite_ all the other smaller noises of water gushing, leaves blowing and the assortment of sounds from nearby wildlife at the beautiful spot.

As JB looks away with a sigh, the colour drains from FP's face. Eventually, his lips begin to move without a sound. He can't utter a single word in response to what his daughter has just told him; words that he can barely even comprehend.

So, he tries once more, trying to determine whether his ears are in fact fooling him in some cruel prank that his own body is trying to pull on him.

"What did you say?"

However, the prospect of having to repeat herself for a _third_ time sets JB off as she stands up from the bench that she'd taken a seat at and where she'd been expecting her father to eventually join her before she'd dropped the bombshell on him. Then, standing up and taking a few steps closer to her father, she musters up all the courage she has to look him straight in the eye when all she really wants to do is run away.

"I _said_ I stuffed up, dad! I got pregnant to a guy who couldn't care less about his own kid's life. I got myself kicked out of home. I was naive and stupid enough to get myself stuck in this situation. Did you hear me that time?!"

However, JB doesn't wait around to hear the answer to her own question, spinning around on her heel as she storms off and away from her father, heading for somewhere, anywhere, as she tries to escape and flee from the moment of sharing her enormous news with her father.

Meanwhile, her shell-shocked father continues to stand there as though he's glued to his place on the ground, until something –the motion of his daughter's steps or the sound of her futile attempts to conceal her sniffles, or perhaps something else _entirely-_ brings him back to that moment in time as he follows after his only daughter who has already had the chance to gain some distance from him as he hurries after her.

Hearing the motion of her father following after her from behind, JB throws her head back, swiping at her moist cheeks as she tries her hardest to sound convincing and strong when she feels anything but.

"Go away! You can save your breath. I've already heard what a disappointment of a daughter I am. Just leave me alone..."

Despite his own complete and total confusion and shock, seeing the distress that is beginning to bubble over within the girl is what motivates FP to fasten his pace and hurry after his upset daughter. She is already storming further and further ahead of him and away from the lookout that they'd stopped at as she walks through the trail and overgrown trees that separate the access from the road to the river below.

"Slow down, Jellybean... Just stop! Talk to me."

Her father's words bring JB to a standstill for the briefest moment before she decides to keep walking and storming ahead.

However, the brief pause is enough for FP to pick up his pace and close in on his daughter, taking her wrist into his hand to stop her in place as gently as he can.

" _Stop_."

Her surprise from being jolted into a stop seems to set JB off, shocking her into letting go of the tears that she'd been so desperately holding in and keeping locked up as they begin to stream down her face.

Then, she just keeps her focus trained on the ground with her father's grip latched onto her wrist as he just watches his little girl who is so much more grown up than he'd ever realised, trying to process his own absolute shock. However, only seeing _shock_ -not anger- on his face, relieves her swirling emotions and fear just a little more.

"God, kid, I don't even know what to say... I had no idea. I didn't even know that there was a guy on the scene for you in Toledo, your mother never said anything..."

FP speaks through his shock, using his grip on his daughter's wrist that is keeping her in place to stroke it in a feeble attempt to comfort her while he's still too shocked to do it any other way.

"She didn't know about _him_ before she knew about the pregnancy. He was my study partner. I told him about the baby but he chose his career instead and left for college. Mum had no idea before that... But, she said she'd kick me out if I was planning on keeping the baby and even though I'd been planning to give it up, I told her that I was going to raise it just to spite her. So, she threw me out and I came here..."

Nodding distantly as he listens to his daughter, FP's mind is working overtime as he tries to process everything that she's telling him. However, despite everything, FP can't help the little smirk that springs to his lips as he hears of his daughter's feisty streak that had ultimately had her kicked out of home.

Then, finally exhaling through a deep breath, FP looks to his daughter, his face neutral, his eyes still widened out of shock, but the genuine care in his voice evident.

"Are you okay?"

JB thinks about her father's question honestly for a few moments. Then, as tears fill her eyes and her face scrunches up, she looks to the ground, wrapping her arm around herself and doing her absolute best to suppress the tears that she can't keep from falling when she eventually speaks up.

"No... I screwed up. I've screwed _everything_ up. None of this was supposed to happen and even after it did, I always thought I would I'd make the problem go away after nine months..."

Just when FP thought that nothing more could shock him, hearing the last words that his daughter has uttered proves him wrong yet again.

"You're giving the baby up?"

JB exhales a sigh as her arms cross in front of her frame both a little protectively and subconsciously.

"I was going to... I was convinced that that was the best decision and that it was right for us. But, after coming here, seeing Betty and meeting Bailey, I couldn't bring myself to go through with adoption. Not when she made realise that I could do it. Besides, originally, I was okay with the idea of adoption but after hearing the whole story of how mum and I left, I realised that _I'd_ be mum if I gave this baby up but went on to keep another in the future; if I chose one kid over another, just like she chose me over Jug."

This time, it's FP who exhales a sigh, listening to and continuing to try to process everything that his daughter has told him over the last few minutes.

The two of them stand there in silence for the longest time as FP tries to process everything while JB averts his gaze uncomfortably, wishing for herself to be _anywhere_ but there in that moment in time.

Then, finally with yet another deep sigh, FP's hand comes to rest on her shoulder supportively.

"Look, you probably have Betty and Jughead to thank for softening the blow of becoming a grandfather, but now Bailey is the best thing in my world. Truthfully, no offence to you or Jug but I probably love her more than my own kids ..."

Despite his shock and despite her tears, after FP makes the teasing remark the younger girl can't stop herself from chuckling as she swipes at her moist eyes and the joke he's making that she really _doesn't_ dispute.

"... It's going to take me a while to wrap my head around this, Jellybean. In my mind, you're still _eight_. But, I'm pretty sure that I'll come to love your kid as much as I love Bailey."

After having kept her eyes trained down on the ground, studying it intently, when JB finally looks back up at her father, her brown eyes are once again filled with tears. However, this time, the angst and the nervousness on her face is replaced with a relieved _smile_.

"I'm so sorry that I had an ulterior motive for coming home, too. It's so good to be back here with you and Jug -I always wanted that- but I'm so sorry that I never disclosed the real reason why I came back here, on top of everything else that I've been keeping."

FP doesn't say a single word in response to his daughter's apology.

Instead, he just takes a step closer to the fragile young girl, pulling her into his arms and holding her close and tight into him, just as though she still were a young child, not the eighteen-year-old who has found herself stuck in the mess that she is.

And, remembering what his daughter had mentioned just minutes earlier, alluding to the moment when she had told her mother the very same news, FP just holds his youngest child even closer as he whispers into her hair, reassuring her:

"You've never been a disappointment to _me_."

#

The following day, JB and Betty had arranged for FP to look after Bailey for Betty and Jughead, under the premise of then spending the day together with JB, hanging out.

When Betty left home with Bailey that morning, she left JB who was busily preparing lunch for the three of them. Meanwhile, the young mother took her bubbly four-year-old who was discussing everything she ' _totally_ _needs'_ to tell her grandfather about as soon as she sees him, along with all of the things that she ' _totally_ _needs'_ to do at his house today, taking her the short distance to the Jones trailer.

When they finally reach the front door that Bailey knocks on loudly, Jughead is quick to answer it, having been expecting his girlfriend and daughter's arrival.

"Bay! How are you, my girl?"

Jughead grins at the sight of his girls, beginning to bend down to pick the younger of the two up. However, the young father just gets a quick wave from his child before the four-year-old scurries past him hurriedly, running further into the house with an apologetic:

"Sorry daddy! Bailey's busy!"

Watching the scene between father-and-daughter unfold right in front of her, Betty does her best to hide her amusement as she takes a few steps closer to the front door from where she'd been standing behind Bailey. Jughead meets his girlfriend halfway and the two reach each other with a kiss while Betty's hand comes to rest on her boyfriend's chest.

"Don't take it personally, Jug. She was with you yesterday but I think it's been about a week since she saw your dad and she's been exploding with everything she ' _totally needs'_ to tell him about."

Jughead just chuckles at his girlfriend's explanation, shaking his head at his daughter with affectionate awe over all the things that the little girl comes out with each and every day, lighting up his world.

However, before they can move onto another topic or consider leaving, Betty and Jughead hear the approaching footsteps from the open door as FP negotiates with his granddaughter, carrying her back outside to where her parents are still standing, lingering by the front door.

"How about you say goodbye to your mum and dad and then you can spend _all day_ telling me about that, sweetie?"

With her blonde pigtails bouncing around animatedly, Bailey nods in agreement with a quick " _Okay_!" as her grandfather lowers her to the ground to allow her to race towards her dad first.

Giving Jughead a hug as he picks her up, he hugs and squeezes his little girl within his arms before Bailey reaches out for her mother too without leaving her dad's arms. Then, with Betty wrapping an arm around her boyfriend and the other around their daughter, Betty completes the hug as the little family of three stand there with Bailey's arms linked around both her parents necks as she hugs them both, squeezing them tightly with her little body between theirs.

"Love you mummy! Love you daddy! Bye!"

Both Betty and Jughead return their little girl's goodbye, whispering and reassuring her of their love for her as they hold her between them before she finally begins to wriggle, looking to be put down again.

While Jughead places Bailey back on the ground where she is quick to race back to her grandfather, the smile on the young father's face lasts long after his daughter has left his arms.

And, as Betty and Jughead leave the Jones trailer, blowing kisses to their daughter on the way out, Jughead murmurs to his girlfriend:

"Damn. I don't think I'll ever get enough of her..."

#

After dropping their daughter off with her grandfather, Betty brought her boyfriend back to her home with the plan for the two of them -along with Jughead's sister- to hang out and spend the day together, disguising the two girl's ulterior motive for their catch up.

After all, especially now that her father knows, JB knows that she has to tell her brother her news, also.

JB started with apologising profusely to her brother for her actions of a few days ago, apologising for the damage she'd done in trying to raise his level of alarm to match her own, sparked by jealousy. She acknowledged that her actions could have had the potential to destroy his relationship with Betty, apologising to both of them for her immature handling of the situation with her lies not only spreading slander about Betty with but also hurting her brother in the process.

Then, while Betty had offered to be there with JB for when she told Jughead, just before Betty left to drop Bailey off, JB had changed her mind, deciding that she wanted it to be just the two of them.

So, after the two girls finished their lunch with Jughead that JB had prepared, Betty offered more drinks, telling them both that she'd back in a minute, walking back inside after pressing a kiss to her boyfriend's cheek and sending a small, discrete smile of reassurance in JB's direction.

Meanwhile, knowing exactly what bomb JB was unloading onto her brother outside, Betty did her best to keep busy and preoccupied, making hot drinks, tidying the spice rack and beginning to flick through a magazine until the back door goes flying open and her boyfriend comes storming inside, followed closely behind by his sister.

As soon as he reaches the kitchen bench that his girlfriend is seated at, Jughead furls over, almost as though he has to catch his breath simply from walking inside. Instantly, Betty jumps off the stool, rubbing his back comfortingly in an attempt to ease his reaction at what she knows his younger sister has just told him. Then, as she comforts one Jones sibling, she sends a sympathetic look to the other who is sheepishly standing on the other side of the room upon facing her brother's reaction to her news.

Then, when Jughead finally pricks up from where he'd been curled over on the bench top, he looks between his girlfriend and his sister, seeing the look exchanged between the two girls, knowing _what_ it means.

"You knew, Betts, didn't you? And you didn't say anything to me?"

Betty sighs, continuing to rub Jughead's back as she explains on both her and JB's behalf.

"It wasn't my place to say anything... You needed to hear it from your sister, not me. I only found out accidentally, anyway. Casey told me. _He_ didn't know that _I_ didn't know."

Betty's words send Jughead into a spin all over again as his gaze flies over to his younger sister with shock.

"Casey's the dad?! Casey?! Bloody hell, JB! You didn't waste any time, did you?! You've only been in town for a couple of months!"

"Calm yourself down, Jughead!" Betty hisses in a low whisper, with her green eyes piercing into her boyfriend's blue ones seriously. "Your sister has just told you one of the hardest things to tell _anyone_. Do **not** make this any harder on her."

A silence between the three of them fills the room before Jughead exhales a sigh and a deep breath, running his hands through his hair before his gaze turns to his younger sister apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Jellybean... Just, _how_? I'm, I'm just, _shocked_."

From where she's cowering in the corner with her arms crossed in front of herself, JB simply nods at her brother's apology.

" _No_... Casey's not the father. But, he knows about the baby and has offered to help me out."

Again, shock ripples through Jughead and while he'd been shocked by his assumption just a few moments ago, upon hearing that his assumption was _wrong_ , he's only grows even _more_ shocked.

"Who the hell's the father?"

"A guy back home... _Justin_. He was my study partner and we started seeing each other. He knew about the baby but he decided to stick with his plans to continue with college instead."

Once again, Jughead's jaw drops though this time it's replaced by anger, not shock.

"He got you pregnant and he's not standing by you?! He _left_ you?! I'll kill him. I'll kill the guy."

At seeing her brother beginning to flare up angrily and fly off the handle, JB is quick to speak up and come to the defense of the father of her child.

"Look, it was _his_ choice. I was planning to give the baby up before I came here, before I heard what Betty did and before I met Bailey. Now, keeping the baby is _my_ choice, just like it would have been if I'd decided to go through with adoption. Either way, he and I both had a choice. It wouldn't be fair for either of us to force the other into anything other than our own choice. Sure the guy turned out to be a jerk, but I wouldn't want him here under duress."

Jughead just shakes his head in disagreement, as he leaves Betty's touch where she'd been rubbing his back soothingly as he begins to pace around the kitchen, walking around and around as he tries to process all that has come to light in the last few minutes.

Then, finally, Jughead stops, abruptly walking over to his younger sister and wrapping her into a quick hug before pulling back and looking her straight in the eye with concern.

"Are you okay?"

With a sigh followed by a small smile, JB thinks of the support she's found, despite the situation that she thought would be the end of her life as she knew it.

"I will be."

#

After telling her brother her news, JB hadn't hung around for too much longer, sensing that the couple were wanting some time to be alone while they were still child-free, leaving the two young parents at Betty's apartment with FP offering to look after their daughter for as long as they needed, both today and tomorrow.

Besides, when she got the message from Casey saying that he was ready to talk for the first time since taking a step back and taking some time to think, JB was chomping at the bit to leave and to meet with him.

After the afternoon when all hell had broken loose, Casey had reassured her that it wasn't a breakup, but that he _did_ need the time and space to reassess everything -their relationship included- since the truth and the lies that she'd been keeping came out.

Once JB left, Betty confided in her boyfriend about how strange it had been to see her ex-boyfriend cosying up with her potential sister-in-law…

She wanted the best for both of them. She was happy for both of them if they could make it through and work things between them out. But, it was still so, so strange for her to see the crossover of her inner circle with the union of the unlikely match, seeing them sharing a booth and sitting across from her at _Pop's_ just two days ago.

Then, after they ordered pizza and planned a night in, Betty and Jughead have just finished their meal with him stealing the last piece of garlic bread as they lay there on her lounge, feeling sluggish, double their size and unable to move a muscle after gorging on their meal.

Meanwhile, almost since the moment JB had finished answering her brothers questions that had followed her announcement to him, neither JB herself, nor Jughead or Betty had returned to that subject. However, lying there, Betty can tell her boyfriend's mind is consumed and she can just about _guess_ why.

"So how are you feeling, _uncle_ Jug?" she asks in little more than a whisper as she runs a hand through his dark locks.

Following her question, Betty feels him sigh beneath her before he utters a single word in response.

"I feel like a massive hypocrite... I want to head out to Toledo and I want blood. Yet, I was that guy, too. He and I both got a girl pregnant and just left."

At hearing his words, Betty bolts upright from where she'd been laying against him, her eyes narrowing on him seriously.

" _Don't_. It's not the same... _He_ left JB _willingly_. He knows about their baby and he left them. _You_ didn't knowingly choose that. You had no idea Bailey existed."

Another sigh.

So, Betty reaches up, extending herself to press a kiss to her boyfriend's cheek, continuing to stroke the skin with her thumb long after her lips leave it, with a smile curling on her own lips.

"I've got to say... Uncle Juggie sounds pretty, damn cute..."

Betty's remark brings the briefest quirk to Jughead's lips before it is replaced with yet another deep breath, followed by a sigh.

"Seriously... How is my kid sister having her own kid? She's still so young... It just makes it even harder to comprehend the fact that you'd already _had_ Bailey at that age..."

Betty nods at what had been her reality before she begins to giggle quietly, shaking her head.

"What chance has poor Bailey got? It's a _curse_... I only ever thought it was my family, but I think it turns out that it's really _our_ families… Her grandmother, her grandfather, her parents and both of her aunties have _all_ had their first child by the age of eighteen. Think about it, Jug. We'd be grandparents before we're 35 if Bailey had a kid at the age we had her."

The thought is not only laughable, but it's also more than a little horrific; especially for the young father who visibly pales at his girlfriend's remark and the thought of history repeating itself yet again.

Feeling his pizza-stuffed stomach churning, Jughead shifts uncomfortably, the idea almost making him sick to his stomach as he speaks up both dramatically, but also fearfully.

"We _are_ getting a tower in a few years, Betts. A nice, tall, teenage-boy-less tower. No question."

Betty giggles at her boyfriend's dramatics, just reaching up to press a consoling kiss to his cheek, toying with the idea of retorting that her parents probably had the same idea for herself and Polly before deciding against it.

So, they fade to silence from where they're laying there with her cuddled into him, staying like this for as long as they can with neither of them really knowing how long it's been before they are interrupted. After all, both of them have almost dozed off into their food comas before they feel Jughead's phone vibrating in his pocket between them.

As he fumbles for his pocket, Jughead just groans while Betty yawns, trying to adjust herself from where she's lying against him to allow him better access to his pocket.

Then, when he finally pulls the device from his pocket and puts the phone to his ear, Jughead hears the shaky breathing on the other side of the line before he hears a word.

The silence alone has Jughead on edge, any lethargy well and truly gone as he listens intently, wide-eyed.

"Jug? Step away from Betty for a minute."

Jughead can hear the urgency in his father's voice that Jughead doesn't _dare_ question. So, he presses a kiss to Betty's forehead with a ' _I'll be right back'_ before worming out from below her as he gets up from the lounge and walks down the hallway of Betty's apartment, leading to Betty's bedroom along with Bailey's that her aunt has basically claimed.

In the short walk from the lounge to the hallway where his father checks 'are you on your own?' **so** many questions come to Jughead's mind... _What? What is it? What's wrong? Is Bailey okay? Are you alright? Is everything okay? Something's wrong, isn't it?_

However, Jughead cannot bring himself to ask a single one of those questions. Instead, he just stays silent, trying to control his own breathing that is rapidly growing shaky as though it's viral.

Then, after a few moments of silence that Jughead doesn't dare to disturb, FP speaks up, inhaling shakily as he does so.

Feeling the sinking feeling in his stomach and the way his heart is pounding achingly, it's almost as though Jughead _knows_ the words before they have even left his father's lips.

"Jug... There's been an accident. It's Bailey."

* * *

 **Goodness gracious that was a long chapter... So, after a bit of a pep talk and encouragement from Betty, finally everyone knows everything else that JB brought to town with her. I'd love to know what you thought of FP and Jughead's reactions. Then, there's p** **ossibly the cruelest cliffhanger in the world, right? What happened? Will Bailey be okay? Not to mention, will Betty, Jug & FP be, too?**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who left a review and shared their thoughts on the last chapter! Thank you for sticking with this story. So much happens over the next few chapters and I hope you all enjoy the ride!**

 **Next: JB & Casey talk. But, more importantly we backtrack through FP & Bailey's day in the lead up to an awful accident.**


	62. Déjà Vu

**CHAPTER SIXTY TWO – Déjà Vu**

"Excuse me? I think your daughter just dropped her bracelet."

It takes FP a moment before he realises that the voice from behind had been talking to him, _about_ the little four-year-old who has already raced ahead of him and in through the doors of _Pop's_. In fact, it's only after the second ' _excuse me_ ' when he realises that _he's_ the person who's being excused.

Glancing back at the man who wouldn't even be ten years younger than himself, FP simply chuckles as he glances to the complete stranger who is holding out the small beaded bracelet, then over to Bailey and back again as he takes the bracelet that is being held out to him.

"Yeah, right... Thanks for making my day, mate. The kid's my granddaughter."

FP notes the uncomfortable look on the other man's face as his mouth opens and shuts awkwardly and FP can just about _see_ the stranger contemplating whether or not to say anything else, whether to risk saying something else and putting his foot in it again or whether to just brush it off. So, to put the stranger at ease after his good deed, FP just holds his hand out to shake the other man's hand with a grateful smile.

"Thanks for picking it up. I think you've saved a lot of tears and heartache for a four-year-old."

The stranger seems to become more at ease after FP's 'thank you' and handshake, just exchanging his smile, followed by a nod before walking off and continuing on with his day.

However, for the briefest moment, FP enjoys the effect of the misunderstanding on his own ego, feeling a ripple of pride at being mistaken for his granddaughter's father, despite the fact that within the next few months he's set to be a grandfather of _two_.

So, when FP finally returns his focus to the fact that he's taken his granddaughter to the diner to take her out for lunch, he quickly scans the room for the little, blonde girl, feeling his heart rate rise until he lays eyes on her from where she is standing at the end of a table across the room, babbling away to his own daughter and the man he's met only once or twice before.

Following her lead, FP's eyes are scanning between the two at the table, noting how sombre and serious they both look, despite doing their best to listen to and respond to the bubbly little girl who is telling them about whatever story she's come up with to share with them.

Then, noting her grandfather's presence as he stands alongside her, resting a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, Bailey glances up to FP with a bright smile before pointing to the table that they're standing in front of.

"Look Grandpa! It's Aunty Jeeb and Casey!"

JB just gives her father an uncomfortable wave as she sits there, sheepishly, quietly hoping that the booth will swallow her up whole as she looks between her niece, her father and the man who she's expecting could very well be breaking up with her in a few moments time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the booth, Casey gets up to shake the older man's hand before returning to his seat.

"It's FP, isn't it? Good to see you again."

FP just nods uncomfortably, looking between the blonde man and his clearly even _more_ uncomfortable daughter who are sitting at the table together, looking from one to the other and then back again.

Meanwhile, as he stands there looking between them, FP is busily trying to play catch up. Was _he_ the father of his unborn grandchild? But, wasn't he Betty's ex? Or was he the one who was Betty and Jughead's friend since high school? No, surely he's too old to have gone to school with his eldest... So what's he doing sitting there with his _youngest_?

"Yeah, right, so Casey you are...?"

Casey's response is prompt, with his two words leaving the smallest smile and a flicker of hope on FP's daughter's face.

"JB's boyfriend."

However, while Casey's statement brings a smile to one Jones's face, it leaves a mark of confusion on the others face as FP watches the blonde man, vaguely continuing to remember one other occasion when Casey introduced himself during an outing after Bailey had wanted to say hello to him, where he had then introduced himself as Betty's ex.

"But weren't you..." FP begins, trailing off unconfidently, his confusion making him struggle with the big picture and what he's missing out on.

"With Betty? Yeah, a while ago. None of us had realised the link until a few days ago..."

Casey's words prompt an uncomfortable silence between the group before JB claps her hands together, as if to catch everyone's attention before her attempt to dissolve the tension and get rid of her father all in one hit.

"Anyway, you've brought _Bailey_ out for lunch, haven't you?" JB says, speaking up indiscreetly and trying to push her father to leave their table and leave them alone to enable them to return to their tense conversation they'd been engaged in _before_ Bailey had interrupted them.

FP catches his daughter's hint, nodding and taking Bailey's hand in his own while his other sends them a quick wave goodbye as he tells the four-year-old that they need to find their own table, leading her across the room.

As FP and Bailey slot into their own booth, FP intentionally slides into the side that permits him to keep his gaze over on his daughter and the man in her company as they return to their serious conversation.

The overprotective father's attention is intent and his gaze is fixed on them while Bailey is telling her grandfather _all_ about the last time that she had lunch at _Pop's_.

Then, after a few minutes and upon the second frustrated sounding "Grandpa!" that catches his attention, FP's gaze adjusts from where he was watching the fractured couple a few tables away, turning it to the annoyed little girl sitting in front of him.

"Grandpa! You're not listening to Bailey!"

As he looks to the annoyed four-year-old, FP has to stop himself from cracking a smile, unable to take her annoyance with him seriously while her little arms are tightly crossed in front of her as she does her best to look unhappy with a tight frown on her face.

Bailey stays quiet for a moment before she gets up with a huff, walking around to the other side of the booth and takes a seat beside her beloved grandfather. Then, the little girl reaches up, gently taking the older man's stubbled chin into her grasp, turning his head to her.

"Listen to _Bailey_ , grandpa."

FP just nods before tucking a lock of his granddaughter's golden hair behind her ear affectionately as he casts his eye up to his daughter and her company just as they appear to be leaving their seats. He then looks back to the little girl who is desperately seeking his attention from in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Bailey. You're right. I was distracted and I wasn't listening to you. What were you saying to me, sweetheart?"

#

On the table on the other side of the room, Casey and JB had been sitting on either side of the booth for a little while before JB's four-year-old niece raced over to them, interrupting their conversation.

Being the second of the two of them to arrive, JB had dropped into the booth across from Casey, immediately clapping her hands down on the table. She doesn't wait for the pleasantries and the small talk before she instantly launches into talking.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Forsythia Jones. I go by Jellybean but I prefer 'JB'. I'm eighteen. I'm pregnant. I'm a liar. And, last but not least, I'm an absolute idiot."

Casey's head had been piqued with interest from the moment that Jellybean had taken her seat across from him. His face is almost completely blank. He shows no anger, he shows hurt and he shows no madness. It's the best poker face that she has ever come across.

"Eighteen..."

Casey repeats, still trying to believe it for himself as he exhales an audible sigh and runs his hands through his hair, shaking his head to himself.

"Bloody hell, Jellybean..."

JB just nods, guiltily looking down to her lap as she takes a deep breath and tries to find the words for her apology that she knows aren't anywhere near enough.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry that I lied to you about my age, Casey. It wasn't fair to mislead you with a detail that had the potential to impact our relationship. At first, I didn't think you'd even bother talking to me if I'd told you how old I was that first day. I thought it was just a harmless little white lie. At that point, I had no idea of how beautifully and how quickly things would unfold between us."

As JB's glance momentarily flickers over to the man sitting across from her, she catches the momentary falter in his poker face, revealing the smallest smile that the memories attached to her words brings to his lips, followed by a wave of sadness.

"Obviously, I lied to you about being related to Jughead. He's my older brother. When you mentioned whether I was related to him, I panicked because by that point I'd already lied about my age. I didn't know how you knew him; whether you worked with him or if you knew him from school and I was worried that seeing as you knew _him_ , you might have known he only had a younger sister when I'd effectively just told you that I was two years _older_ than him."

JB can't shake the feeling that with each truth she confesses and divulges, she's only digging her own and her relationship's graves deeper and deeper.

So, as she looks to Casey a little frantically despite feeling as though she has no right to do so, she implores him to listen to _everything -_ to the whole story that she wants to share with him- even though she feels like a breakup is imminent and when she knows she still has no leg to stand on.

"It all began about seven years ago when my mum left town with me, moving over to Toledo and leaving Jughead with my dad here. _That_ was when the lying started..."

As JB trails off with a sigh, Casey's attention is captured by whatever she is alluding to, looking over to her curiously from across the table with furrowed eyebrows, nodding slowly to encourage her to continue explaining.

"For so many years, I told lies because I didn't _know_ the truth. I didn't know why we'd left Riverdale. I didn't know why my mum had left my brother behind. I didn't know why we never even came back to visit. So, I guess I started coming up with my own answers and those answers gradually flourished into lies that I'd give as the truth..."

Casey nods, his face serious but neutral once again as he asks her the question to elaborate on.

"How do you mean?"

"I had _no_ idea about why we'd left or why we wouldn't go back. My mum never answered the questions. So, I used to try and come up with my own ideas of what had happened and why we'd left. Things like we were on the run and needed to be protected or The Serpents were actually a front for the most illicit drug trafficking business or my dad had sent us away to live a better life while he and Jughead were working to provide for us... I came up with every different alternative under the sun, sharing some of the different reasons if I was questioned about my background. Lying just started to become a part of my life."

Casey just sits there, nodding over and over again as he listens to what the younger girl is divulging to him as she shares more about herself with him than she has with anyone else, ever before.

He doesn't know what to say, what to do or what to think. So he just sits there, listening, as JB continues to speak.

"Let me just preface this next bit by saying that I _know_ this doesn't excuse my actions and definitely not my lies... The last six months have been hard. After everything that went on in Toledo with my ex, my pregnancy, being kicked out of home by mum, then coming here and finding out that she had intentionally kept my niece's existence from me for the last four years. That's not to mention everything else that I found out _after_ I moved back here that both my parents had been keeping from me because of my age. Then, right in the middle of all of that chaos, I found _you_."

JB can't even bring her gaze to flicker her gaze over to the man sitting across from her; the man who is sitting there watching her every move intently as she speaks honestly, swallowing her pride and confessing her downfalls that she's not yet finished divulging.

"I'm sorry, Case. I acted like a child. Everything was crumbling down around me all over again in what felt like every aspect of my life and I acted in possibly the worst and the most childish way imaginable. I'm so sorry."

Just as Casey is about to speak up for the first time in minutes, the fractured couple are interrupted by the radiating light that bursts through their bleak and serious mood as the bubbly four-year-old comes racing over to their table at this point.

"Aunty Jeeb and Casey! You're eating food too! Grandpa promised I get to have chippies and a mil-shake. I get to play with Grandpa and Hot Doggy until mummy and daddy come home later."

Bailey says babbling on as she hugs her aunty, followed by her mother's ex-boyfriend before standing at the end of the table and waving her grandfather over to meet them.

Within moments, FP is standing by Bailey's side, laying his hand to her shoulder protectively as he looks between JB and the other man who is on the opposite side of the same booth.

"Look Grandpa! It's Aunty Jeeb and Casey!"

The uncomfortably forced small talk is only accentuated by the point at which Bailey and then FP had interrupted the serious conversation between the two of them, feeling like they stay standing there for a _millennium_ as Casey reintroduces himself and they speak and utter small talk before JB speaks up pointedly, trying to push her father and niece to leave their table.

"Anyway, you've brought _Bailey_ out for lunch, haven't you?"

JB's direct question works and after an equally as uncomfortable goodbye the two of them are left alone once again.

However, this time though, after their interruption it's Casey who speaks up first after taking a backseat in the conversation to allow for JB's guilt-ridden soliloquies.

"So, where were we?"

However, before Casey has a chance to begin, after noticing the way that the girl sitting across from him keeps looking beyond him and over in the direction of where her father and niece had taken their seats at a nearby booth, without turning around Casey manages to determine what has her attention.

"He's still watching us, isn't he?"

With her gaze only flickering over to the man sitting across from her ever so briefly before it is back over on her father, JB releases an uneasy "Yeah..."

As the blonde man glances back towards where the grandfather-granddaughter duo are sitting a few tables away, Casey begins to slide out of his own booth before holding a hand out to the girl sitting across from him.

"Let's get out of here."

#

After leaving the diner, the two of them walk side-by-side for almost fifteen minutes.

They both steal the occasional glance towards the other when they're not looking before their gaze returns either to the path ahead of them or, in JB's case, down to the ground in front of them, all without saying a word.

Then, finally, after she's had more than enough of the silence to handle, JB exhales a deep sigh, stopping in place and waiting for the man in her company to notice, which he does, stopping a few steps after her.

"I'm sorry, Casey. I'm really, _really_ sorry. I know I'm young. I know I did the wrong thing by lying to you. I know I acted immaturely when everything came out. And, I know that acknowledging all of that is nowhere near enough."

Casey returns JB's sigh, looking to her for a few, long moments before he looks beyond her distantly, without a word.

She doesn't permit his lack of response to deter her, continuing to explain and apologise while she still has the chance. After all, every passing moment feels like it's going to be the one when he finally tells her he's had enough, that there's no point to her apologies and that they're over.

"I lied in the first place because I was enjoying your company and talking to you, but like I said before, when you mentioned whether or not I knew Jughead I panicked. I thought that telling you the truth and that I was just his kid sister if you were his peer would only short circuit that conversation to its ending. Everyone was making decisions for me because they thought I was 'too young'. So, that was me trying to step out from that shadow with you when you didn't have that preconceived idea of my age. Then, I _kept_ lying about my age because I really, really came to love what was starting to develop between us and I didn't want to threaten it. I know I should have told you. I know that building a relationship over such a big lie is not healthy. I know I should never have done it and I should have said something sooner after I did. Then, when I saw you and Betty together, I panicked. I felt hurt and scared and betrayed. I was desperate because everything felt like it was falling apart right in front of my eyes... So, I lied again. But that time it was to my brother. "

JB looks away regretfully as she crosses her arms in front of herself, trying to force and feign convincing body language that appears strong when she feels anything but.

"I don't deserve your mercy or forgiveness and I don't deserve a second chance. But, if you do think that you could _ever_ find it in yourself, to give me one more chance, just know that I will be doing absolutely everything in my power to appreciate that opportunity."

Once again, there is a long, outdrawn silence between the two as their eyes meet momentarily, before flickering away from each other.

Then, with yet another deep sigh, Casey speaks up sadly, scratching the back of his head in doing so.

"I'm sorry, JB... I have to ask. I've been hurt in the past so I have to be sure... Not to mention, you've been through these massive changes in your life recently, and, well, I _haven't_. So much has changed for you in such a small space of time, whereas everything for me is pretty settled and stable. So, are you with me for _me_ or are you with me for where I'm at in my life and what I can offer you in terms of stability and grounding?"

JB flinches momentarily with the insinuation of his words stinging her for a few moments. However, she knows that she needs to face it and she needs to face the question -a direct result of her own lies and for the truths that she had concealed- head on.

"No, I understand... I lied, so you need the truth. The truth is that I'm with you, for _you_ , not for what you can do for me. You're not a rebound or a security blanket. So, while you know that I come as a package deal and that being with me means accepting my baby too, I _won't_ accept any help from you... I don't want to. All of that is _my_ responsibility. I don't want a dollar from you. I don't want you to be a babysitter. I don't want to sponge off your job, your money, your house... I was never with you for money or support or stability. I was with you, for _you_ ; because I'm falling in love with the person _you_ are."

Watching her speak honestly and openly in answer to his question Casey nods, looking at her and then away from her a few times before he exhales another heavy sigh.

"You are still _so_ young, JB..."

The younger girl's face falls and she looks down to the ground for a few, long moments before she finally musters up all the strength and courage that she needs to dispute his words and argue the other side of the story.

"Did my age matter _before_? I was still the same age I was. I was the same person I was. The only difference was a number. I'm still me and you're still you... A number doesn't change how we felt, if you felt the same way that I did. It doesn't take away all the nights we'd just sit and talk for hours on end about anything and everything or the time we'd spend driving around and listening to the same sort of music, feeling like neither of us needed to say a word. A number doesn't change anything that we said and felt with each other, Case..."

At the reminders and the nostalgia of the love she'd felt and the memories she'd made over the last few months, JB cannot stop herself from taking the other man's hand into her own.

It's a habit that she knows she should have broken. It's a habit that feels far more comfortable than it should for both of them for where they are now. It's a habit and a touch that she knows she shouldn't have made.

However, he _doesn't_ reject it.

"Because" JB begins, furthering the touch of the hand-hold, entangling their fingers and intertwining their hands as she continues to explain.

" _Because_ , even though there were things that I _didn't_ tell you, there were other things that I told you that I've never told _anyone_ else; not even including what else I've told you today."

Hearing this honest admission brings the smallest of smiles to the other man's lips as JB's big brown eyes, catch this, looking up to him and watching him earnestly, pleading her case to the man she loves just once more.

"I am so sorry for the stupidity of my actions and how my lies have hurt you, Casey. I understand if you can't move past this. But, if you think that you could _ever_ find it in your heart to forgive me..."

JB trails off; allowing her silence to conclude what she had been endeavouring to say in her imploration.

Then, as her silence is returned with more silence, JB senses what he has told her without a single word. So, she nods, remaining silent as she nips at her lip and releases their hold on each other's hands as she takes a step back, backing away from Casey.

She's pulling away but this time _he's_ the one to stop it, taking her hand into his once again.

In the silence, before he says another word and before takes any further action, JB's eyes fill with the flicker of hope that she's trying to extinguish and stop herself from allowing to feel prematurely. They stand like this in total silence for a few moments as Casey tries to weigh up his own feelings and decide on his next move, before finally takes a step closer, _towards_ the scared young girl.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely without blame, either. I should have worked it out sooner. Sure, _you_ were the one who was telling me what I wanted to hear, but _I_ was the one who was choosing to listen to it."

Once again, JB tries to stop her smile that is begging to burst free on her lips. She's _willing_ herself to remain neutral and subjective as she waits for the confirmation that her heart is so desperately seeking.

Then, finally, he _speaks_.

"God, JB. All of this is _so_ far from sense and reason... How closely intertwined our lives were without realising it. Your age. My age. The lies. But, also, my feelings for you; how happy we felt... However, just know that if you lie to me again, if you think that I'd accept that, then we're over, just like that. But, I do think that there was, that there _is_ , something too special between us to just give up on without a fight."

JB can't wipe the smile that instantaneously fills her face off of her lips as she leans up to press a kiss to his lips. However, Casey is two steps ahead, shifting his head to the side as her lips meet his cheek at the very last moment instead as he clarifies the terms and conditions of their relationship's second chance.

"But, we're going to have to back things up a bit and take it _slow_... I think that's the only chance we've got of lasting."

So, instead, Casey just raises their entangled hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand as they continue down the path that they've been walking for almost half-an-hour side-by-side, _now_ hand-in-hand once again, together.

#

After their lunch out, FP brought Bailey back to the park, via the playground on the way home.

Once they returned to the trailer, FP had tried to settle Bailey down with a movie but she spent the entire time either talking over it or getting up and playing at the table or finding things through her grandfather's trailer or watching whatever it was that she was doing. So, finally giving in, he asked Bailey if she wanted to play outside with Hot Dog for a while to give him to spend some time on his truck while looking after her.

Bailey had jumped at his suggestion and they've spent the entire time since outside, as Bailey plays with Hot Dog; rubbing him, combing his hair, playing fetch and exploring the area around the trailer with the sheepdog.

As he's working on his truck, in the back of his mind FP is thinking that it's beginning to get cold so he should probably get Bailey inside or that at least he should get her jumper for her. He probably should make a start on dinner, too...

He'll live to wish that he had.

But, instead, as he pokes his head out from under his truck, putting one tool down to pick up another, FP glances over to where his granddaughter is playing, giggling, just to see that she and Hot Dog have reverted back to playing fetch on the grass beside his trailer.

"Remember, stay close, Bailey."

It isn't until another few minutes later when -triggered by the roar of his neighbour's old pickup truck nearby- FP pokes his head up again to check where the little girl is, only to find that she is further across the grounds of the trailer park, too preoccupied with playing with Hot Dog to realise how far from her grandfather's home that she has gradually ventured.

In the seconds that follow, FP notes where his granddaughter is -distractedly throwing a stick to Hot Dog-, he notes where the pickup truck is backing out and he frantically tries to pull himself out from beneath his own truck, screaming out commands to the oblivious little four-year-old, being the one and only person to see the danger unfolding.

He's too slow.

But, that's hardly surprising when everything is moving in slow motion.

The pickup truck is too fast.

Bailey's too distracted.

He doesn't make it. There's no physical way that he could have.

Then comes the _thud_. It's the sickening sound which will haunt FP for the rest for the rest of his life.

His screams for help don't stop after the sickening thud; however the pickup truck does just in time to note the hysterical man racing across the grass. FP immediately drops down to his granddaughter's side as he simultaneously fumbles for and tries to pull his phone out of his pocket while checking her pulse, beginning to stroke the side of the little girl's face and gently shake her, trying to wake her while he surveys her small, limp body for harm frantically.

"Bailey! BAILEY! Wake up! Come on sweetheart, wake up. Please sweetheart, _please_ , please wake up for Grandpa..."

Suddenly aware of the driver who is furled over with his own distress, looking as though he's about to be sick from the sight of the distraught grandfather trying to wake his granddaughter, FP yells at the driver who shakily complies with his orders to call for an ambulance.

The seconds feel like minutes and the minutes feel like hours. The minutes that pass by are a complete _blur_ and FP has absolutely no recollection of what has been said or done. However, it's been long enough for him to be able to hear the distant call and sound of sirens that FP hasn't even stopped to realise are on the way for _them_.

As FP continues stroking his granddaughter's golden locks over and over again without letup, Bailey's dazed blue eyes finally begin to slowly flicker open and the relief floods through FP, though he knows that she is still so far from out of the woods.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You're okay. Grandpa's right here, Bailey... Everything's going to be okay."

FP's words are just as much for himself and his own faith as they are for his granddaughter as he tries to control his own unsteady, shallow breaths.

Then with her big blue eyes looking both scared and hazy, partly out of fear and partly out of confusion, Bailey's face begins to scrunch up and she begins to sob, crying out for the person that she'd spent the four years of her life turning to and relying on implicitly.

"I want mummy..."

As Bailey begins to cry, trying to get up from where she'd been knocked to the ground, FP is quick to try and hush her cries, consoling her and trying to keep her still as he lies on the ground beside her, stroking her hair which seems to calm her.

In fact, with his attention fixed on his granddaughter entirely, FP is oblivious to the nearby ambulance and approaching paramedics that his neighbour, the driver of the truck, is waving over.

Even when the paramedics finally reach them, FP is almost oblivious to the way his mouth goes on autopilot as he explains what happened and Bailey's details to the paramedics as one of them speaks to Bailey, trying to determine her state, while the other focuses on spinal boards and stretchers.

"Are you dad?"

The female paramedic asks, trying to clarify FP's connection to his granddaughter.

It stings FP, startling him. After all, it marks the second time in the very same day for the same misunderstanding.

While the misunderstanding and mistake is a common one (though it makes FP's day every time), never before today had it had happened twice in one day. There was almost a bitter sort of irony to it.

"No, I'm her grandfather. She's my son's daughter" FP utters after shaking himself from his stunned gaze at the paramedic, forcing himself to answer her.

Then, stroking Bailey's hair once more before the stretcher is raised into the ambulance; FP quickly pulls his phone from his pocket as he steps away for just a moment while he still has a chance to make the call away from Bailey.

Then, lifting his phone to his ear and waiting to hear the voice on the other side of the line, FP prepares to say the words that are the hardest thing to hear as a parent, to his own son, _before_ the threatening lump in the back of his throat chokes him completely.

"Jug? Step away from Betty for a minute... Jug... There's been an accident. It's Bailey."

* * *

 **Poor Bailey! Poor Bughead! Poor FP! I'd love to know what you all thought of that chapter. There was fair bit going on there with not only the accident and the lead up to it, but also with JB and Casey as they finally met to clear the ear.** **After the last two chapters have ended with the very same line, we go forward from here.**

 **Big, big thank you to everyone who left a comment on the last chapter. I'd love to know what you all thought of this one, too.**

 **Next chapter: Everyone rallies together at the hospital in the wake of the accident. Jughead lashes out at FP. Then, Casey and JB grow closer as she learns a truth about _his_ past.**


	63. These Four Walls

**CHAPTER SIXTY THREE – These Four Walls**

"We're looking for Bailey Jones. We're her parents."

Betty rasps as she reaches the nurses' station, trying to catch her breath as they wait for what feels like a millennium. Finally, the nurse gives them the directions that they need which sends them running off just as quickly as they had when they ran _into_ the hospital to start with.

Betty has been on the verge of breaking down -tears brimming her emerald, green eyes- from the moment that her boyfriend had stepped back into her lounge room, looking as though he'd seen a ghost.

" _We need to get to the hospital. It's Bailey."_

In every moment since she heard those words, Betty has been trying to seek out and touch Jughead, looking for them to support each other as they experience the same, paralysing anxiety together.

However, he keeps unwittingly pushing her away, while fighting against every instinct and whisper in his mind that's telling him that it will end just as horribly as the last time he was at a hospital, when he was too late to see his dying friend just one last time.

Then, upon seeing the man who is like a father to her, the man who she had entrusted with her daughter's care not only today but so many other times before and the man with visibly damp, reddened eyes as he paces around the corridor is the final straw for Betty as she finally crumbles, collapsing into his arms just as she reaches him.

"Where is she?! What happened?! Is she okay?! Where's my baby?!"

Finding the solace she needs in FP as he hugs her, holding her close, Betty breaks down while she sobs hysterically.

The immensity of his own guilt is _drowning_ FP with every sickening moment that he's left waiting for his granddaughter who is out of sight -just rooms away- with doctors surrounding her, knowing that _he_ is the reason that she's in there.

However, feeling like he'd not only failed Bailey, but that he'd also failed Jughead and Betty in the process is what impels FP to hold the young mother in his arms tightly, running his hand up and down her back as he supports her.

He can't fail her again.

Meanwhile, although he is pacing up and down the corridor, Jughead is so _far_ from the hospital that he's in...

His eyes are fixed to the ground; he isn't aware of his father and girlfriend hugging nearby and if it weren't for his physical presence, there'd be nothing to indicate that Jughead is standing in that hospital corridor. After all, he feels as though he is anywhere _but_ there as he tries to cope with his gut-wrenching fears for his daughter's safety while simultaneously suppressing his recent memories and subsequent feelings from the last time he'd been in a hospital -not even a year ago-, when he was too late to say a final goodbye to one of the most important people in his life.

Though he may not be aware of _her_ in that moment, she is aware of _him_ as Betty glances over to her boyfriend, momentarily checking in to see how he is and how he's coping with the same fear and anxiety as she is; both of them consumed with terror over the welfare of their little girl.

Then, turning back to FP, with the way that her big, green eyes look up at him desperately and pleadingly, Betty breaks his heart before she even asks him the question.

"What happened, FP?"

"She was playing. She was playing outside on the lawn with Hot Dog. I was watching them; I should have been watching them closer. Scott from next door got in his truck. I heard it. Then I saw that Bailey and Hot Dog had gotten further than I'd realised. I tried yelling. I tried running. It was no use. Everything was running in slow motion. He hit her."

Betty involuntarily yelps at the description and the telling of the events that had unfolded just hours earlier, sinking down once again as her knees give up and her stomach just about folds in on itself, collapsing her.

Then, while Jughead had been so far from that hospital since the moment that they entered into it, the last part of FP's explanation seems to flick a switch, awakening a new side and ferocity in his grief-stricken son as he turns around on his tail, taking a few, slow, menacing steps towards his father as his finger extends itself, pointing out, pointing to him.

"We _trusted_ you... We trusted you with our _child_ ; to look after her, to look out for her. How the hell could you let his happen to her?! You're her _grandfather_ for crying out loud! I swear, if anything happens to Bailey..."

As soon as the word 'grandfather' comes from his lips, Betty is reaching out and reaching for her boyfriend's shoulder, trying to pull him back sternly with a warning voice.

" _Jughead_..."

However, FP's own deep, brown eyes are red and moist with the tears that he's holding in with everything he has as he just nods his head at his son's words in complete agreement.

"I know... You're right. You trusted me. You, Betty and _Bailey_ trusted me to look after her. I failed you, boy. I failed all of you. I'm a miserable excuse for a grandfather."

A few moments of uncomfortable silence pass by in the waiting room as Betty hisses at her boyfriend and his scathing, grief-stricken words.

However, FP doesn't deny it. After all, his son is completely and absolutely correct.

Every word that Jughead _had_ spoken as he lashed out and blamed his father along with any other word that he potentially _could have_ said, FP was already been thinking about and relating to himself, blaming himself for the fact that his beloved granddaughter is in hospital, with her life on the line.

But, before anyone –Jughead, Betty or FP- can say another word, the three of them are interrupted by rapidly approaching footsteps as JB races through the corridor and over to her family, along with Casey who is following behind her quickly with his large strides.

Upon reaching the group, JB immediately wraps her arms around her brother, then Betty, before looking to her dad.

"What happened?! Where's Bailey? Is she okay?!"

FP pulls his daughter over to the side to explain the story once again, away from the anxious young parents as they are being greeted with hugs and sympathy from Casey.

After JB and Casey's arrival, a silence seems to fall upon the group. No one knows anything further. No one knows what to say or do.

They all come to a standstill in the corridor and they _wait_.

FP has his arm around Betty who is fighting back her constantly tearing up eyes, with Jughead standing by her side, up against the wall. Then, between FP and Casey is JB with her head in her hand as her boyfriend rubs her back soothingly.

Together, they wait. And they wait, and they wait...

Then, after what feels like years has passed, a doctor comes out, bearing papers, his scrubs and an unreadable expression.

Instantly Betty is to her feet, rushing over to the doctor, pleading for information and the news that she needs to hear.

"Is she okay?! Where is she?"

Following the delay in his response, Betty tries to read the expression on the doctor's face as he steps through the formalities of confirming the little girl's only primary contact.

"Are you Elizabeth Cooper?"

"Yes, I'm Elizabeth –Betty- I'm Bailey's mum. Is she okay? Can I see her?!"

The doctor stands up a little straighter as he prepares to address the young mother who is clinging onto every little word and expression, desperately trying to preempt what she is about to be told as Jughead joins her side, finally wrapping an arm around her and holding her as they prepare to face whatever they need to face.

"You've got one lucky little girl in there... We think that she'd seen the truck and tried to brace herself for the hit. Her arm is badly broken in a few places as a result –we're going to need to operate- but we think she tried to put her arm up to protect herself which cushioned her from most of the blow of being hit. We also think she copped a little bump to her head from her fall. Because it was mostly grass that she fell on, she just needed a few stitches. But, we're going to keep a close eye on her for a few days and we want her to stay in under observation to monitor her and make sure there's nothing more serious; no further internal bleeding or trauma from her bump to the head. Like I said, you've got one very lucky little lady in there... We're going to operate on her arm right away, but we're expecting her to make a full recovery."

With his arm around her, Betty sinks into Jughead's body at the doctor's words, beginning to sob once again, this time with tears of relief.

Meanwhile, for the first time since his father's phone call, Jughead feels like he can _breathe_ again as he presses kisses into his girlfriend's hair, the two of them clutching each other to handle the feelings gushing through them, beginning with the most heart wrenching of anxiety to the most joyful ecstasy.

In fact, the two of them are so preoccupied with their own feelings and emotions that neither Betty nor Jughead note what is happening behind them as Casey gets up and begins hurrying out of the corridor and then away of the hospital as quickly as he can after uttering a simple sentence to the woman sitting beside him.

"Stay here for Betty and Jughead. I'll be back in a minute."

JB senses that her brother and his girlfriend have the support they need from each other and her father after receiving the news that they _really_ needed more than anything else. And, JB also remembers that how despite trying to comfort her, Casey's breathing had been short and shallow So, JB decides to ignore his advice to the contrary following after him...

#

Following her boyfriend out of the hospital with the suspicion that something wasn't right, JB was just a few steps behind Casey after he walked out of the hospital, following him out just in time to witness him momentarily furling over, with his hands on his knees, before picking himself back up again and pacing around outside.

"Casey... Case!"

As soon as she reaches her boyfriend's side, JB has her hand on his back, watching him with concern.

"I'm alright. I'll be back inside in a minute. Go back and be with Betty and your brother. I'll be alright... They need you more than I do."

Shaking her head, JB takes a few steps closer after he had tried to brush her support off, walking further away from the hospital that he was fleeing from.

"No. Betty and Jug have each other and my dad. No one can do anything to speed up the waiting game. I think you need me more right now, Case... You've been there for me through so much. Please _let me_ do the same for you."

Casey glances down at the brunette for a fleeting moment before looking away once again as he tries to control his hyperventilating breathing.

Then, seeing how worked up he is, yet how calm he's trying to appear, JB steps in, not waiting for him to answer, to give her the approval or to push her away.

Instead, she just touches his back lightly, being careful not to smother him, before beginning to walk and directing him along with her.

"Let's get to some open space. There's a park around the corner."

She doesn't say another thing and she doesn't wait for him to respond. Instead she takes charge, taking the lead, directing them both around the corner of the hospital building to the open park. From there, she releases her touch on his shoulder, just watching intently as he paces around, focusing on his breathing.

JB has only ever seen Casey like this once before on another occasion a few weeks ago. It was a day where she'd came over, surprising him out of nowhere, and coming to see him on a day that he'd said that he wouldn't be able to leave the house.

Despite his best efforts to appreciate her presence and her company, that day she could tell that he was struggling and that he was suppressing some kind of panic or anxiety, for whatever reason.

While she could tell he wasn't himself, she hadn't pushed him to talk, not wanting to overstep and push him into discussing whatever he was dealing with if it was something that he wasn't ready to talk about or talk about with _her_ just yet. Instead, she'd just tried her best to give him space physically while also trying to distract him from whatever was on his mind and whatever it was that had him worked up.

So, once again, JB takes a backseat and she tries to balance space with support while watching him closely with concern, observing from a few metres away as he paces, trying to control his breathing in what she suspects is some kind of panic attack.

Then, after almost fifteen minutes of silence, noting just the _slightest_ improvement in his breathing and watching as he pauses on the spot for a few moments before beginning to pace again, JB decides to speak up with a suggestion that she's hoping may help him, putting it on herself but using it as an opportunity to see whether or not he will seize it along with her.

"My back's getting a little bit uncomfortable from standing... Join me if you want."

While she is feeling a _little_ niggle of discomfort in her lower back, JB makes the most of the opportunity and the chance to use it as an excuse thinking that if her were to join her, laying down may be better for him than pacing around.

Casey paces back and forth a few more times before he eventually slows down, coming to a standstill and standing on the ground beside JB before he lowers himself to join her, laying back on the grass and lying down, looking up at the darkening sky.

Within a few minutes, the fresh air, the wind on his skin, the soft grass beneath his fingers and the feeling of _space_ frees him from the panic of entrapment just a little more.

While his skin still feels tight and he can't quite shake the feeling that he can barely even describe, he does find his heart rate slowing as he feels increasingly capable of breathing air into his lungs regularly.

Meanwhile, every few moments, JB subtly tries to look to the man beside her, watching him with concern for as long as she thinks she can get away with before turning her attention back up to the sky until the next time she looks his way again.

Then, after about twenty minutes of laying there in complete silence that feels anything but uncomfortable, JB is distracted by someone else as a smile spreads across her face, feeling the light flutter from within her that is still so strange and foreign, despite rapidly becoming familiar to her.

"Case..." JB whispers, looking over to the man beside with her a smile on her face. "The baby's kicking. Did you want to see if you can feel it?"

JB has only felt small movements from her unborn child a handful of times over the last few weeks. Being in her boyfriend's company most of these times, she would announce the feeling, offering for him to try and share the feeling too. With her direction, he'd gently lay his hand to her stomach, his thumb automatically stroking her skin as he looks to her, waiting. There was always an expectant smile on his face as he waited and waited and waited, eventually shaking his head after she'd check 'did you feel that?' without success.

That's how it went most times, yet each time he'd still try, ready and waiting to spring with excitement like a Jack-in-a-Box.

It was only the very last time he'd tried when he'd _finally_ felt any movement. The smile couldn't be wiped from his face for the rest of the day.

So, though she won't be offended if he turns her offer down, JB puts the suggestion to her boyfriend nonetheless to which he instantly seizes the opportunity and the distraction that she offers.

After guiding his hand, the two of them wait silently and expectantly for a few minutes, waiting a little longer again after she readjusts his hand on her stomach.

Then, JB doesn't even need to ask Casey _"did you feel it that time?"_ before she _sees_ the answer on his face as it lights up with delight and he smiles for the first time since their visit to the hospital.

They stay like this for a while, smiling together, distracting each other, until a few minutes pass by and all movement seems to cease. After a while, Casey pulls his hand away with a final affectionate stroke and they stay laying there, on the grass, in the middle of the park beside the hospital in complete silence. Then, looking over to the woman laying beside him, Casey smiles once again, before speaking up for the first time in a while.

"J? _Thank you_."

JB just returns his kind smile that is partnered with his _thank you_ and the use of his abbreviated form of her nickname, reaching out to give his hand a quick, but reassuring, squeeze.

"We're a team."

The two of them continue to lay there silently for a little while longer until Casey speaks up suddenly once again, with a comment that comes from out of the blue.

"She was eight months old."

Her boyfriend's statement leaves JB with more than one question. However, as he looks to her, seeing the questioning and the confusion in her eyes, he continues talking with the words that he hasn't uttered in a long, long time.

"My little sister... _Charlotte_. I was the youngest of three boys. She was my parents' surprise package when I was six. When Charlotte was eight months old she passed away, out of the blue. SIDS..."

The soft gasp that springs from the younger girls lips is audible and her eyes begin to well with tears. After what had _already_ been an emotional day and on top of the added hormones that she's been contending with of late, the mention of her boyfriend's loss from all those years ago is what tips JB over the edge, bringing her to tears.

"Oh, Case, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..."

The blonde man gives her a small, feeble smile. After all, though appreciated, words are never really enough.

Then, he continues to speak, filling in the blanks of the day that had struck her as out of the ordinary -though it was nothing damaging- a month or so ago, when she'd visited her boyfriend. It was the day when despite knowing that they had no plans, JB couldn't shake the feeling that she'd walked into something.

"You know that day when you came over and I was a bit off but I never explained why? I'm sorry about that day, by the way. It was the anniversary of her death. I always find that day of the year a pretty rough one. Normally I avoid people, but I've got to say that even though I wasn't really seizing your company at the time, I really _did_ appreciate you being there."

Then, he continues speaking and he continues explaining, getting the words that he has spent so much of his life carrying, off of his chest.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you then. I should have. My family never really spoke about it when I was growing up so now I don't really, either... From about a week after her funeral onward my parents never really spoke about it openly. Occasionally my brothers and I would talk to each other about it, but Charlotte and her death was never really acknowledged after her funeral. While I don't think my family dealt with it in the right way, I think that it was just too painful to acknowledge. It changed me and my family and losing her shaped us all in ways that we never really came back from."

JB swipes at her damp eyes, before reaching over and squeezing his bicep reassuringly.

"You are an incredible, incredible man, Casey Turner... I can't even imagine the self-sacrifice it would have taken you to muster up the courage and to try to be there for Betty and Jug today despite how much of a struggle it would have been for _you,_ facing all those awful memories. For you to try and set your own scars aside to support others... _God_. You are one of a kind."

With his own eyes growing glazed, Casey's head ducks as he looks away, as though he's uncomfortable and squirming from the attention.

"Like I said, Charlotte's death shaped my family -myself included- even though I was so young... I don't want people to have to feel that pain or suffering. I want to do my best and do what I can to stop that and avoid it... I understood how Betty and Jughead must be feeling; the grief that they'd be trying to hold back at something so unthinkably awful and painful... I will never, _ever_ forget the bloodcurdling scream after my mother checked on Charlotte that morning. Not to mention the years of grief that followed it as our family tried to come back from something so horrific... But, her death shaped me to be the person I am today."

Looking to the man beside her, JB is filled with so much empathy, so much awe and admiration and so much respect.

And, she loves him for it all.

#

While FP is giving Sherriff Keller his formal statement about the accident and with JB and Casey still outside together, Betty and Jughead are left in the same waiting room, continuing to wait through every agonising minute; knowing that their little girl is just rooms away, undergoing surgery.

Betty head is resting on her boyfriend's shoulder as they sit, just speaking up every now and then.

Nothing has been said between them for a good ten minutes or so when Betty's head pricks up, looking further down the corridor upon remembering back to four-and-a-half years ago.

"I think the maternity ward is just down there... Bailey was born in the room on the right just after the doors there."

" _Really_?"

Jughead follows his girlfriend's gaze, looking down the corridor to where –if you listen close enough- you can hear the occasional cries of newborn babies. While he's interested in the new piece of information about the significant day that he had missed out on, Jughead can't help but feel a pang of guilt and pain for the fact that he has to be told about it and that he was never there to experience it firsthand.

"Yeah..." Betty replies with the smallest of smiles, thinking that relieving that day might be the distraction that they both need in that moment as they sit there helplessly, waiting for their little girl to be okay.

"Archie brought me in to hospital that day... He'd been checking on me every few hours as soon as I hit about 36 weeks. Then, the day before my due date I was home alone and in the early stages of labour. So when he came over to check on me he noticed the way that I was breathing deeply and wincing every now and then... He started to panic instantly and rushed me to hospital a whole lot early than he probably should have. When we got there, it was like every clichéd hospital scene in the movies. He just about tried to _carry me_ in as he burst through the hospital doors declaring something along the lines of: ' _My best friend is having my other best friend's kid so I swear if someone doesn't help her, they've got me to deal with_ '."

While just moments ago the retelling of the past had elicited the sting of pain and guilt for Jughead, as Betty continued with her story, her boyfriend couldn't help but shake his head as he imagined the scenes unfolding in this very hospital four years ago.

"Good ole Archibald Andrews... Riverdale's King of Melodrama."

"And all this time I thought that crown belonged to _you_... Seriously, he was very sweet, though. Sure, I think he was panicking more than _I_ was but boy, was he one proud uncle... Afterwards, Veronica was telling me that in the waiting room he was with the other family members, waiting with other fathers-to-be and aunts and uncles and grandparents, telling everyone that he was about to become an uncle. Then when she was in the nursery, he was showing Bailey off and pointing her out to _every_ , single, passerby."

For the briefest moment, Jughead _smiles_ , revelling in the idea of his best friend's pride over his own daughter, able to visualise it for himself.

However, the moment is fleeting before Jughead exhales a sad sigh, leaning over and pressing a kiss into her golden locks.

"I wish I was there."

Looking up to her boyfriend, Betty's big, emerald eyes are still glassy from the rollercoaster ride that has been their last few hours as she watches him earnestly before responding honestly.

"So do I... Even though Archie and Veronica were amazing that day and my parents arrived a little after they did, I didn't want anyone else in the delivery room with me that day if **you** couldn't be. Though, perhaps I did rely on the nurse's support a little more heavily than I should have..."

After trailing off, Betty momentarily sniggers to herself, remembering back to the feeling and how she could _not_ care less at the time at how strongly she'd relied on the nurses in the room on that day, though she had felt more than mortified upon thinking back to it after returning to her senses as soon as the following day.

Then, with a deep breath as she presses a kiss to her boyfriend's cheek, Betty summarises her memories of this hospital from all those years ago, tying it together with one important factor from the present.

"But, the important thing is that you're here now."

Reaching down, Jughead presses another kiss into her hair as he holds her tight and close, reassuring her that _yes_ , he is right there and that he won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

#

It could be hours, it could be minutes or it could be years –they've lost all sense of time- before Betty and Jughead are finally joined once again in the corridor of the hospital waiting room by the same doctor who immediately approaches the two young parents.

This time, Betty doesn't need to be right there in front of him and grilling him for an update, with the doctor voluntarily speaking up as soon as he is in earshot.

"Good news. The operation was a success. Her arm will be in a cast for quite a few weeks but she's lucky to come out of an accident like that with a broken arm and a few scratches. As I mentioned before, we're going to keep her in hospital under observation for the next forty eight hours just to monitor her and make sure nothing changes with her condition. She hasn't woken up yet but you can go in and see her."

Both Betty and Jughead thank the doctor profusely, feeling the anxiety melt off of them as they immediately trail towards the room after following the doctor's directions.

Stopping just outside the door, Betty takes a big, deep breath, trying to prepare herself for what is on the other side, knowing she's going to need the strength for Bailey's sake. Then, Betty hurries into the room ahead of her boyfriend, instantly rushing to be by her daughter's side as she claps a hand over her mouth, feeling tears beginning to well for the umpteenth time today at seeing her baby lying there, bruised and bloodied with her arm bound up, concealing the surgery and the trauma she's been through.

"Oh, baby girl..." Betty quivers, ever so gently stroking her hand down the side of her four-year-olds face as she examines her, unable to look away, yet feeling her eyes becoming filled with tears and her own hurt rising within her just from the sight of her daughter on the hospital bed.

Looking back to her boyfriend with tear-filled eyes as he joins her side to watch their daughter, Betty speaks up with an honest admission.

"It breaks my heart seeing her in here..."

Jughead just nods. He remains silent for a few extended moments until he finally exhales a sigh as he leans forward to press a kiss to his little girl's forehead before standing back and wrapping his arm around the mother of his child.

"I can't stop thinking about how big she's been getting lately. But, she looks so _little_ lying there in that bed."

Since he's just wrapped his arm around her, Betty sinks into her boyfriend's embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist and giving him his own squeeze of reassurance as she returns the touch and support that he'd initiated.

After all, she knows that they're going to need to be there for each other in the coming hours, days and weeks in order to be there for their little girl.

"Of course she does... Because, no matter how big she gets, she's still our baby, Jug."

#

A few hours after her parents had been permitted to join her in her room, Bailey had woken up groggily, crying from both the pain and surprise until she found both her parents by her bedside, whispering to her and doing their best to soothe her until the painkillers kicked in.

Then, the very first Bailey had asked as she came-to was: _'Is Hot Doggy okay? Did he get hurted too?!'_

While Jughead and Betty had felt that she was too groggy and in too much pain for visitors today, the little girl had been inundated with visits and presents from her family and loved ones the following day.

Sitting there propped up and upright in the middle of her throne of cushions like the Queen of the castle in her hospital bed, a quite unfussed Bailey has been growing rather accustomed to being spoilt rotten by her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, now surrounded by her mountains of gifts, balloons, toys, teddies and sweets.

In fact, there was a running joke with every visitor who came to see her saying that the four-year-old seemed far too bright and chirpy to be in hospital. However, Betty and Jughead could both tell when her painkillers seemed to be wearing off and when their little girl needed a top-up, noting almost as soon as she begins to become subdued and clingy to either of them.

While it broke their heart every time she'd begin to whimper -calling for either her mummy or her daddy- along with each time she'd wince from being touched or if she moved, but both Betty and Jughead were just so, completely and utterly thankful for the fact that Bailey had just come away with a broken arm and a few stitches; that _everything_ will be okay.

* * *

 **I couldn't be too mean and let little Bailey hang in the balance for too long so I wanted to get this one up sooner rather than later. I'd love to know what you all thought of the chapter as her family gathered together along with a little bit of Betty reminiscing on the day she was born to Jug. Also, a little more to Casey's backstory was divulged, explaining a little more behind the person he is and why he goes to the lengths he does for the people he cares for after he and his family suffered through something so awful when he was so young. And, most importantly, Bailey's okay... But, how could I let her be anything but?  
**

 **Big thank you to everyone who left a comment on the last one. Not too many left now, but there's still so much left to happen x**

 **Next chapter: We jump forward in time a little bit. Jughead spends Bailey's first day of kindy distracting Betty with a walk down memory lane.**


	64. Their Past, Their Present, Their Future

**CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR – Their Past, Their Present, Their Future**

"Where are the tissues?!" Betty sniffles, whispering frantically as she searches for the tissue box that shouldn't bother leaving her side anymore.

Despite putting her makeup on just a little over an hour ago, almost all of it had been removed, leaving little more than a trace.

Three weeks had passed since by since the accident. Bailey's arm was still in a cast and will most likely be for quite a few more weeks -despite the doctors being pleased with her recovery- especially given her surgery on her badly broken arm.

So, despite one arm being clad in the girliest baby pink and covered with names and little pictures of butterflies and hearts, nothing and no one was going to stop not-so-little little Bailey from her first day of kindergarten.

However, while her daughter had been counting down the days and racing to the calendar to see how many sleeps were left each day, Betty had been _dreading_ it. After all, after spending all day, every day with her, the young mother was fearing the day she'd have to drop her baby girl off and leave her in someone else's care, setting the trend for what would be each Monday to Friday for the next thirteen or so years of Bailey's life.

#

After making Bailey her most favourite breakfast of a waffle with fruit salad, Betty got her little girl dressed and ready in what is currently her favourite outfit, tying her gorgeous, long, golden locks into two pigtails before finally collecting her Shopkins kindy backpack that they'd bought weeks ago, preparing it with her Moana water bottle, her lunchbox and everything else she'd need to embark on her first day of kindergarten.

Then, when Bailey was finally all set and all ready to go, JB had stood on the other side of the camera as she took photo after photo of the milestone day in the four-year-olds life, taking candids and close-ups, along with combinations of Betty and Jughead -both together and separately- with their little girl.

In addition her aunt, Bailey had _insisted_ on one other person being there when her parents and Betty especially had been planning everything for her monumental first day of kindy.

"Grandpa has to come too!" Bailey had announced when she'd overheard her parents talking over the plans a few days beforehand, without hearing the name of her beloved grandfather...

#

FP had been struggling with the guilt, the blame and the nightmares that had been haunting him since the day of the accident.

Despite getting so far as reaching the door to her hospital room, FP hadn't even managed to muster up the strength and courage to knock on the door to his granddaughter's hospital room, knowing that _he_ was the reason why she was in there in the first place. Added to that, his son's words that he only agreed with completely would reverberate over and over again in his mind, reminding him that he _should_ have been taking better care of her, that all three of them _had_ been trusting him with Bailey and that the accident was entirely _his_ fault.

Jughead had struggled with facing his father and returning home after the accident and after lashing out at him. In fact, it was only after he'd stayed with the girls for a few days -to not only be there for Bailey but also to avoid his dad- when Jughead _finally_ returned home to the trailer, facing him.

Jughead had walked straight inside, being quick to find his father with a beer in his hand...

"Put it down. Do _not_ let yourself get on that bandwagon again."

FP had barely been able to look his son in the eye from the moment he'd seen him walk inside.

"How is she?" he'd asked, looking down to his lap as he twisted the beer in his hand.

"She's doing good... The surgery went well and her doctors have been pleased with her recovery since. She's still on pretty strong painkillers but she'll get there. She keeps asking about you, you know? She wants to know when she's going to see Grandpa again."

Jughead didn't see the glistening tears that well in his father's eyes from both his own and the four-year-olds words, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on his lap.

However, despite his father's silence, Jughead didn't allow it to stop him speaking as he walked across the room and over to his father, running his hands through his dark locks during the transit, looking back to his father. Then, Jughead came to a standstill as he watched FP intently and earnestly, considering the fragility of life that he had come to realise in one of the hardest ways possible over the last few days.

"I'm sorry, dad. What I said to you at the hospital on the day of the accident was uncalled for. I was completely out of life to say that. You _were_ there for Bailey –and Betty- for so many years while _I_ wasn't... Thank you for everything you _have_ done for her."

However, despite Jughead's apology and his retraction of his words after lashing out at him on the day of the accident that left Bailey in hospital, FP began to shake his head in disagreement with his son and what he's telling him.

"No... No, you were right the first time, boy. You were right to say it. You were right."

Then it was Jughead who was shaking his head as he looked down to his father, reaching out and clapping a hand to his shoulder.

"No I was wrong to say it. Especially when anything I possibly _could_ have said about you that day, you were already thinking about _yourself_..."

FP's glance flickers up, looking at his son momentarily before looking away again as Jughead continues to speak reassuringly.

"Bailey doesn't see it the way you do. She adores you, dad. Don't let your guilt get in the way of your relationship with her. Trust me; I know a thing or two about guilt over the very same little girl... Don't make Bailey suffer for the guilt you're carrying."

Then, Jughead walked over and removed the beer bottle from his father's hand, pouring it straight down the drain.

FP never picked up another.

#

Taking Bailey who was just about _bursting_ with excitement at every little thing she saw as she entered the kindergarten grounds, Betty found herself tearing up as she held Bailey's hand with her boyfriend on the other side of their little girl carrying he carried the Shopkins backpack that his daughter had gotten sick of carrying after five minutes.

"Look mummy! Look daddy! It's 'mazing. It's so super, super big! Bailey will play and sing and read books and play again! It's _so_ 'mazing..."

While the four-year-olds enthusiasm and excitement is contagious, Betty smiles through her glassy eyes that are holding in her tears over the emotional day while, despite the weeks of lead up, Jughead is _still_ trying to wrap his head around the fact that he has a kindergarten aged daughter...

#

Betty and Jughead had stayed with Bailey for the first twenty minutes or so as the group of children were slowly eased into the room and away from their parents after saying their final goodbyes before breaking away from the independence of their parents.

After wishing her an amazing first day of kindergarten, reassuring her of their love for her and saying their last goodbye to their little girl, Jughead finally lead himself and his girlfriend who was trying –and failing- to hide her tears and sobs.

Then, as soon as Jughead and Betty finally got outside to the gates of Riverdale Kindergarten the two of them stand there, holding each other, hugging each other as Betty cries into her boyfriend while he rubs her back soothingly, feeling her struggle at the same experience of letting go, though doing so in just a little less _liquefied_ way.

"I promised myself I wouldn't cry today..." Betty sniffles, chuckling ironically at how abysmally she'd failed herself, to which her boyfriend continues running his hand up and down her back.

Then, eventually, as he presses a kiss to her hair, Jughead turns both them and their attention just a little to face the gates of the small town's kindergarten where their daughter is playing happily.

"Look at this, Betts. Look where we are... The kindergarten where seventeen years ago a dweeby little raven-haired four-year-old who hid beneath his oversized beanie met the most beautiful golden-haired girl who he thought looked like a Disney Princess. Now, seventeen years later, the same kindergarten is their _daughter's_ kindergarten."

Jughead's sentimental reminders spring fresh tears to the younger mother's eyes as she gently shoves his stomach as though she's _trying_ to be annoyed with him.

"Ugh, thanks a lot... I'd just _stopped_ crying, Jug."

He brings her back into his arms, wrapping both around her tightly as he presses a loving kiss into her hair, before whispering into it once again.

"I thought that mumma bear would find it tough leaving baby bear with the other cubs so I thought I'd keep her occupied for the day..."

Looking up to him with her sparkling emerald eyes, there's a little bit of feist in Betty's answer as she snorts at her boyfriend's wording.

"I know you miss her too, but you _don't_ have to talk to me like I'm Bailey... My vocabulary is a touch larger than hers is."

#

Beginning with their own kindergarten, the place where they had met all those years ago, upon dropping their daughter off on her first day of kindergarten marked the starting point of a day of walking down memory lane together.

After all, Jughead had suspected that his girlfriend would need a distraction during their little girl's first day of kindy, so while he, Betty and Bailey had been planning in the lead up to her first day, Jughead had been working away busily with plans of his _own_ for the very same day...

Once they dropped Bailey off at their old kindergarten, Jughead took them both to their next destination on their date and their trip down memory lane, progressing to their elementary school right alongside from their kindergarten where they'd graduated to at age five to; where they'd go on to spend the next five years of their lives.

"Our next stop is this place. It's crazy to think how three little musketeers would become the best of lifelong friends... You know in grade two when Archie asked you to marry him? He told me about it and I became the most jealous kid. I got myself in _so_ much trouble that week for how moody I was after he told me that."

Betty smiles, taking their intertwined hands and bringing it to her lips to press a kiss to his hand, before looking to the man beside her who had spent so many years by her side, but had taken a step to the back with a background role in the 'Archie and Betty' show.

#

Thankfully for the chronology of their date and trip down memory lane, their early schools are all relatively close in proximity to each other, with the students typically graduating to the bigger school and bigger yard alongside it and then bigger again and bigger again as they move through the school system in the small town.

Strolling along the footpath to where Betty can guess he's now taking her to their middle school just around the corner, the two of them peer into the school gates at their old classrooms and buildings and playgrounds that had been their home from Monday to Friday for another three years between grades six to eight as Jughead provides his own commentary of his memories.

"Middle school... Probably the worst years of the school system... We had the worst string of teachers in middle school, not that it really affected _you_. Middle school was where I realised that I'd probably be destined to sit on the sidelines as you and Archie's third wheel for the rest of my life."

This time when Betty glances over at her boyfriend, she raises her eyebrow at him curiously.

"Well, look how wrong you turned out to be about that one... You always were Mr. Cup Half Empty" she replies, quickly reaching over to press a kiss to his cheek this time, bringing a smile to her boyfriend's face as he keeps on walking, pushing them forward in their walk down memory lane together.

"We've got a bit of a hike ahead of us for the next one..."

After a half an hour of walking, Betty knows where they are heading, knowing there's still another half an hour ahead of them.

"Do we have to walk _all_ the way to Sweetwater River? Surely there's somewhere closer we can go right? What about high school? Reminisce about the _Blue and Gold_?"

Ignoring his girlfriend's whinge, Jughead just shakes his head, squeezing her hand confidently despite not surrendering to her pleas.

"Nope... High school has its own part to play."

A little over half an hour later, Jughead lead them to the part of the track near Sweetwater River with the clearing, where they found a picnic basket that had been 'miraculously' placed there just twenty minutes before they arrived. JB had a bit of free time on her hands, after all.

The picnic basket contained an assortment of Betty's favourite foods and a bottle of champagne as the young parents paused during their trip down memory lane to stop at the location, Sweetwater River, where the two of them had fallen in love over Jason Blossom's murder investigation.

After an hour or so, they pack the picnic lunch up and Jughead calls his sister to collect the two of them, greeting them briefly before not even saying another word, trying to make herself scarce as she drove them back.

"I'm not here. Honestly. Don't even acknowledge me. I'm _not_ here..."

JB drove the couple who were canoodling in the backseat to the Southside where she quickly raced out and hauled the picnic basket inside to her father's trailer, leaving them to it before peering out the window to where Jughead and Betty were standing about 50 metres away from the trailer, holding hands.

"I didn't say it at the time -I should have- but this is the spot where I knew I loved you. This is the spot where I knew it wasn't just a long term childhood-crush-turned-romance but that I truly, completely loved you. This was the spot where I fell absolutely head over heels. It was after I brought you over to my dad and when I asked your thoughts on us quizzing him over Jason's death."

The memory of the night that Betty had almost forgotten about brings a smile to her face as she reaches up to gently hold her boyfriend's face within her hands, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips, elaborating on her initial memory.

"I remember something along the lines of that too..."

"Good memory... You're right about that."

#

After the trip to the Southside and the stop outside of FP's trailer, Jughead then brought the two of them along to the street of both Betty and Archie's childhood homes. However, Jughead brought them in from the right-hand side of the street, meaning that they walked past Archie's home before the Coopers.

"So, it's a little bit out of order, but time was a bit of a push seeing as we have to be back to the kindergarten and collect Bailey in a few hours time. But, remember Archie's tree house? All the hours we spent playing and talking and mucking around... I think that was where little Jughead Jones first developed his enormous crush on Betty Cooper. Probably greatly attributed to the snacks she was always bringing to supply the tree house with food... Did you know, you were the only girl to be exempt from the 'no girls allowed' rule?"

Walking hand-in-hand with his girlfriend as he trails past Archie's childhood home that is now he and Veronica's house, Jughead glances over to his girlfriend, catching her chuckle at his honesty as they continue walking.

Then, as they approach the home beside Archie's, Jughead brings the two of them to a standstill on the borderline between the two properties, not exactly wanting to do what he's intending to while standing _directly_ in front of Betty's childhood home where her parents still reside.

Taking both her hands into his, he entangles their fingers as their hands dangle in front of them.

" _Now_ , we have your childhood home... A place of _firsts_ for you and me... One started with something along the lines of _'hey there, Juliet'_ and the other resulted in _a_ Bailey Juliet."

A slight flush of colour spreads to Betty's cheeks at her boyfriend's phrasing of their history. However, Jughead only takes a step closer towards her, pressing a kiss of reassurance to her lips before dropping his hold on her other hand after pressing a kiss to it, then continuing to lead her to their next stop.

#

After walking along for ten minutes, Betty is beginning to get a suspicion of where he is taking her next just before they arrive out the front of Riverdale High School.

Arriving at the high school where they spent some of their most recent years together, both Jughead and Betty know that those walls can tell many, many stories both in their own history but also for all the other students that have roamed those classrooms and corridors.

However, despite all the stories and memories _inside_ the school, Jughead brings the two of them to a set of stairs outside the school, bringing them both back to one night five years ago that they remember in painfully vivid detail.

Unlike every other destination on their trip down memory lane, this time Jughead pauses and he takes a big, deep breath before he speaks up about this location in particular that neither of them needs the commentary for.

"I made the worst decision of my life here, which was followed by one of the biggest. Where, if we'd known that you were carrying my child that day, in that moment of time, it would have given me the hope I needed, it would have made me stay and it would have given me a reason to keep living which I needed that day."

When Jughead finally looks over to his girlfriend, he can see her eyes have grown glassy with tears for the umpteenth time today as she looks between the stairs and the man beside her, reaching out to squeeze his hand, to reassure herself that despite the decision that he had made all those years ago, he is still here with her.

This time, it's Betty who stops them in their spot on their walk down memory lane, reaching up to press a kiss to her boyfriend's lips before pulling away and lingering as she strokes the side of his face lovingly.

"We're nearly finished" he just says eventually, pressing a peck to her cheek and guiding her along with him once again.

#

Next, he brings her through the centre of the small town, where a market had been held almost a year ago with stalls scattering the space in the centre of town.

Jughead brings Betty along with him, bringing her to the point on the footpath where a little girl who looked remarkably like the two of them was standing there crying, having wandered off and lost her mother.

It was the point where a young man, initially moved by empathy, had slowly made sense of the stream of coincidences as he helped the little girl until her mother eventually ran over to her, filled with relief, until she saw _who_ was standing beside her little girl, or _theirs_.

Once again, Betty knows _what_ the significance of this place in their history together is, especially as he directs them over to the bench where the two of them had then sat together as Betty confirmed that the lost little girl was hers and that she was _their_ daughter.

"I am so thankful for this day. I know everything was a mess to begin with, but I missed out on so much in the three years of Bailey's life that I wasn't there for that I am just so grateful that it came to an end that day."

"So am I, Juggie. So am I..."

#

From their current stop in the centre of town, for the first time today Betty isn't too sure where he is taking them...

They're heading back in the direction of the Cooper and Andrew's residences, but then they take a turn. They're moving in the opposite direction to the Southside. It's nowhere near Betty's apartment. In fact, it's nowhere near _anything_ else that would have an enormous significance on their lives and their history.

After asking him a few times without any success, the only thing which Betty can think of is that they're heading in the direction of a playground that is not too far from her parents home and the Andrews house, where they have taken Bailey to a handful of times before.

"Our last stop..."

While Betty looks around, trying to determine what it could be that she's forgetting that has had such a strong role and part in their lives like everything else from today, Jughead watches her, relishing in the moment of her confusion.

She's distracted -preoccupied- and it gives him the perfect opportunity that he'd been hoping for, allowing him to clutch what he needed to from within his back pocket before lowering himself to one knee beside her.

Jughead hears the breath leave his girlfriend after her sharp inhale of breath as her gaze returns to him and when she notes the change in his stance that she'd been distracted from.

"Betty Cooper... Leaving you all those years ago was the biggest mistake of my life but I promise that I will never, ever leave you again. I have spent years of my life being amazed by every part of you; your strength, your grace and the size of your heart. I am in awe of the incredible mother, partner, daughter, woman and friend that you are. Thank you, Betty... You gave me hope, you gave me love, you gave me a family and you gave me the most perfect little girl. You deserve the world, Betts, and I want to spend the rest of my life promising to give you that because I love you, I love our baby girl and I love the family we've made together. So, seeing as you're going to be stuck with me forever, Betts, will you do me the absolute honor of becoming my wife?"

The pause between the most important question Jughead will ever ask and the most important answer that Betty will ever give is momentary.

" _Yes_... Yes, yes, yes, yes!"

Before he even has a chance to slip the ring he's holding onto her finger, she has wrapped her arms around his neck, holding her close to him as she kisses him, kissing him everywhere until they finally pull away from each other with the enormous smile that's on her face and being mirrored in her eyes as Betty smiles up to her boyfriend, moist tears sparkling in her eyes once again today.

"I'd like nothing more than to marry you, Jug..."

He shares her enormous smile, pressing yet another lingering kiss to her lips before he pulls away, remembering what's in his hand as they both turn their attention to the way he gently scoops her left hand into his, sliding the beautiful, rose gold ring onto her finger.

They kiss, they laugh, they hug, they smile, they hold each other and then they do it all again and again.

Then, after a while they calm to just standing there, holding each other, though still unable to wipe the smiles off their faces.

After pressing a kiss to her hair, Jughead looks down to his fiancée with a grin. It's as though he seems to remember the other part of his proposal along with the significance of their final destination on the walk down memory lane.

"So, do you know what's significant about this spot?"

Betty remains silent for a few moments, looking out and surveying the surrounding area for a few moments longer before she answers his question.

"The playground? I mean we've brought Bailey here a couple of times..."

Jughead just grins, remaining silent for a few tauntingly long moments before he answers her, freeing one of his hands that had been wrapped around her and holding her close to him to enable him to point to the house one in from the corner, across the road from the park.

It's the well-kept house that is neat and new, with a few touches that give it character. It's not enormous but it's reasonably sized, especially for a growing family. It's the house with a picket fence, a beautiful yard out the back, along with a balcony extending out from the main bedroom that overlooks the backyard. It's a beautiful home.

"I bought that house. We own it. So, hopefully, if and when you're ready to move from your apartment, that house will be where we spend the rest of our lives together..."

Not for the first time today, Betty is brought to tears as she throws her arms around her fiancé, sweeping him with love and kisses at surprise after surprise that he has delivered for her.

In fact, by this point she is so close to being rendered speechless that she can only manage to utter the same three words, over and over again...

"I love you. I love you. I love you. _I love you_..."

#

Despite the tears when leaving the very same kindergarten earlier that day, upon returning, the smile cannot be wiped from Betty's face; more than likely from the new piece of jewellery her left hand is bearing.

Then, after waiting for the clock to strike three, Jughead and Betty go inside the same kindergarten that they had left their little girl at just earlier on.

With her backpack on her back as she sits between a few of her little kindy mates, as soon as the little girl catches sight of her approaching parents she jumps up from the cushion she's sitting on with the other children, racing towards them and heading for her father upon seeing his open arms that are ready to catch her.

Picking his four-year-old up the moment that she runs into his arms, Jughead and Betty smother their little girl with kisses and hugs from within her father's hold, eventually pulling back as she grizzles: _"Bailey can't breathed!_ "

Then, once they pull away Betty takes her backpack and informs Bailey's teachers that they are leaving with her while the little girl stays in her dad's arms.

Immediately, the young parents quiz Bailey on her day and the events of her day, wanting to hear all about the landmark first day in the four-year-olds life as they walk home, via _Pop's,_ picking up three milkshakes to-go.

Bailey tells them all about her day down to every last detail...

She tells them about her two teachers 'Miss Summer' and 'Mrs Taylor', telling them which she liked better, what books she read, which cushion she sat on, what she played with outside, what she had for snack time and lunch (which Betty had packed and prepared earlier that day), the way she'd hurt her arm a little bit when she was doing colouring and then who she had played with.

While some of the other girls had stuck to each other, already knowing each other from either older siblings who go to school together or from childcare and play dates before kindergarten started, Bailey hadn't really known anyone else in her class before today.

So, while she was a friendly little girl, so much like her mother, Bailey had found it a little hard to be incorporated into the little circles of girls who already knew each other, just deciding that she'd just try to play with them tomorrow.

Instead, Bailey had found that she'd made instant friends with a little boy who offered to share his pencils with her at the colouring table along with the other little boy that they'd decided to approach together after noticing him being excluded as they played outside.

"Bailey played with the girls like Piper and Olivia and Millie and Sophia and Harper just a little bit. But Bailey's bestest friends were Josh and Arlo and Arlo's sister Ava."

With a little smirk forming on her lips, Betty leans over and whispers to her fiancé quietly enough that her words go undetected by their daughter.

" _So_... were you Josh or Arlo?"

Jughead doesn't say a word in response. Rather, he just pales at the thought.

#

After picking up three milkshakes from _Pop's_ which they brought home with them, Jughead and Betty had decided to try and explain their day and their own landmark occasion of that day to their offspring.

However, on their way into Betty's apartment, Bailey had handed her milkshake over to her dad as she rushed over to the letterbox, then using her hand that is not bound up in a cast to open the letterbox and pull out the big, white envelope.

Bailey's face lights up, feeling successful in her daily mission and her favourite chore and the fact that there is something in her and her mother's mailbox. Then, the little girl begins to examine both sides of the envelope, seeking clues.

Every now and then, there'll be an envelope addressed to 'Miss Bailey Jones', usually coming from Polly or the twins. However, those are usually easy to identify with stickers or brightly coloured writing on the envelope with the little girl being able to distinguish that almost everything else goes to her mother.

So, looking at the big envelope with typed black print and a logo in the corner, Bailey's face scrunches up as she hands the oversized envelope to her mother with disappointment.

"I think it says mummy..."

Looking at the envelope, Betty is quick to identify that her daughter is correct and that the envelope is formally addressed to 'Miss E Cooper' which she too begins to scan as the three of them walk up to the apartment door and walk inside.

Meanwhile, Jughead is looking over his fiancée's shoulder, checking out the same envelope as Bailey rushes ahead of them, running to put her backpack in her room.

"That looks official. Do you know what it is?"

Betty ponders his question momentarily, initially coming up blank before realisation strikes her and a smile begins to spread across her lips.

"I think I might have an idea..." she confesses as she opens the envelope neatly, pulling out the large piece of paper along with a smaller A4 one, both being addressed to Betty.

Neither of them bothers with the smaller piece of paper that just acknowledges and informs of the changes to the larger piece of paper that they had lodged together.

Instead, the two of them are both looking down at Bailey's birth certificate which a little more than a month ago now they had taken the steps to have amended in order to include Jughead's name, now listing him as the father of their daughter.

With a smile on her face, Betty leans up and presses a brief kiss to her husband-to-be's lips, the lingering smile remaining on her own face even after they pull away, leaving her to gaze up at him lovingly.

Then, looking down at the piece of paper that now bears _two_ names as the parents of Bailey Juliet Jones, rather than just one, and newly listing Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, Betty just begins to giggle, looking up at the father of her child.

"Well, _that's_ ironic... After four years Bailey's birth certificate is _finally_ complete. But, now it's my name that's going to need to be amended again pretty soon..."

#

A few minutes later and after the distraction of the birth certificate, the three of them are sitting out on the grass outside, making the most of the sunshine as they each sip their milkshakes.

Jughead and Betty are looking to each other, silently communicating as to when, how and who should raise the subject that they've deliberately sat Bailey down with a milkshake to discuss.

Then, feeling the most experienced in raising conversations with their daughter, Betty brushes a hand down the side of her daughter's face reassuringly before she begins to speak up.

"Bailey... There's something we have to tell you."

Instantly the four-year-olds attention is caught as she looks up to her mother with her big, blue eyes clearly watching her attentively.

"Today, daddy asked mummy to marry him."

The little girl's face lights up instantly as she grows both a little excited and a little frantic as she looks between her parents.

"Mummy and daddy did a wedding today?! Where's your pretty dress, mummy?!"

Biting her lip to conceal her amusement at her four-year-olds question, Betty glances at her fiancé before she answers their daughter. After all, Bailey had a pretty superficial understanding of marriage and weddings.

In so many of her favourite movies that either began with or ended with weddings, Bailey had asked her mother especially about _"what's that party?!"_ or " _what are they do-ding?"_

So, seeing as Betty had tried her best to explain the grown up concept of _marriage_ from a child's perspective when just a _wedding_ is seen, Bailey was aware that couples get married _at_ a wedding. However, to the four-year-old the idea of it was that it is all just a big party for two people with dresses and cake and rings and kissing and dancing.

Added to that, Bailey was old enough to _just_ remember Archie and Veronica's wedding, too having just turned three at the time, which didn't really help matters. After all, Bailey had felt like the belle of the ball that day, with the photos, with all the people, with the compliments and from all the attention as her aunt and uncle's flower girl.

"We didn't get married today, Bailey. But daddy asked me to marry him, and I said yes. So, another day, mummy and daddy are going to have a wedding and make a promise to each other and get married."

And, just like the ending of so many of her favourite Disney movies, Bailey delights in her interpretation and understanding of what her parents are telling her means.

"Yay! Now we can live happily ever after!"

* * *

 **A big one right there! It was a pretty monumental chapter for the Joneses with Jughead and FP making peace, Bailey's first day of kindy, Bughead's date (not to mention the subsequent question popping!), the birth certificate and then telling Miss Bailey their news. I'd love to know what you all thought of it...**

 **Also, one of the big questions I got after the last chapter was about FP and where he was in it all. I originally had that scene in the previous chapter but I preferred it ending with Bailey being spoiled in hospital so I hope you all liked when it was covered in the early part of this chapter instead. Also, the other question was about Hot Dog. He was never actually hit in the accident, only Bailey was, so he's fine.**

 **Next chapter: We near the ending of this tale... Jughead and Betty share their big news with their loved ones. Then, what other surprise is in store?**


	65. Endings And New Beginnings

**CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE – Endings And New Beginnings**

After becoming engaged, Jughead and Betty hadn't waited long before sharing their news with their family and friends. After all, it had taken them long enough to get there, why wait any longer?

JB had been in on it all along after her brother had enlisted her to help him with his plans for proposing to Betty, transporting them between Sweetwater River and the trailer park to which JB had _demanded_ to know what on earth he was doing taking her on a date between those two locations all before they'd have to be heading back into town to collect Bailey.

The newly engaged couple had already made arrangements to go past and visit FP a little later on in the evening for him to be able to hear _all_ about his granddaughter's first day of kindergarten from Bailey herself. He was already thrilled as it was to be able to hear about his granddaughter's day, but upon hearing the news that her parents had brought along with them, FP had been bowled straight over with his wish come true.

He couldn't have been more thrilled about the idea of the woman who has been like a daughter him for so many years _finally_ being set to officially become his daughter-in-law.

Then, Betty and Jughead had arranged to visit their best friends and share their news with them the following day. After all, Veronica was already on maternity leave and seeing as he's his own boss, Archie took the morning off of work to meet up with them, too.

Hearing their news as Betty flashed her ring, Archie was stoked for his two best friends, just teasing Jughead that it had taken him long enough as he threw his arms around Betty and then Jughead.

Meanwhile, Veronica had squealed for her best friend, getting up and racing over to the blonde as fast as her swollen ankles would carry her over to her best friend, welcoming her to the wife club.

Then, the most difficult visit came after leaving their best friend's house which was Archie's childhood home and turning right in the direction of the Cooper family home. However, as Jughead had already courageously asked her parents for their youngest daughter's hand in marriage a few weeks ago now, they were expecting it.

While Alice and Hal were undoubtedly the most subdued in their reactions and excitement, neither one of Betty's parents could dispute the fact that their future son-in-law was the best person for their daughter, their granddaughter and both those girls' happiness.

Some of them had expected it. Some of them hadn't seen it coming. Some of them had been wishing for the news. Some of them just knew it was inevitable. There was a range of different thoughts and feelings amongst their family and friends over the news of their engagement, but, all in all, everyone had been _happy_ for Jughead and Betty.

#

Jughead and Betty had started planning their engagement party for around six months after the day they got engaged -which also doubled as Bailey's first day of kindergarten-, while a date for their wedding was still open and hadn't yet been set.

While they'd originally been planning to hold their engagement party a little sooner than that, Betty and Jughead had opted to wait a little longer to dodge Veronica and then JB's due dates, with Betty empathetically delaying a couple of extra months just to allow them both to get into the swing of motherhood before she'd expect them to be partying it up at her engagement party.

After all, just two months after Betty and Jughead's engagement, Veronica had given birth to her and Archie's son.

Cruz Fredrick Andrews had the deepest brown eyes and was _entirely_ his father's son, aside from his head full of dark, raven locks.

Eighteen hours of labour before delivering a nine pounder had left Veronica _swearing_ both through the ordeal and after it that Cruz would only ever be an only child.

Then after his rocky entry to the world, Cruz couldn't seem to get enough of it. He was the most alert baby and his parent's main trouble was trying to get him to sleep when he had a big wide world full of new things to look at and observe.

Then, just under six weeks later, Jughead and Betty were back in the maternity ward to welcome their niece and JB's newborn daughter, little Elizabeth Charlotte Jones, who was better known as 'Ellie'.

With baby Ellie arriving a little earlier than she was supposed to, along with a few other complications surrounding her birth it meant that she was delivered by caesarean and before things escalated from bad to worse, thankfully. In the end, Ellie was fine and healthy while her mum was doing even better than that as soon as she held her beautiful baby girl in her arms, marking the beginning of 'Jelly and Ellie' as they had been affectionately dubbed by FP.

Little Ellie was placid and content and she left FP feeling _convinced_ that his own daughter was not the baby's mother, remembering back to his own baby girl at that age who –much like her older brother- had been an unsettled screamer.

Meanwhile, upon meeting her new little niece and hearing her name that her mother had chosen in a nod of appreciation for Betty and all that JB had felt that she had done for her, Betty had erupted into tears as the new mother just joked:

"After all, if there can be _three_ Forsythe Pendleton Joneses, there can be _two_ Elizabeth Joneses."

So, two-and-a-half months after the arrival of one beautiful baby girl and just after little Cruz had just hit four-months-old, Betty and Jughead had set the date for their engagement party.

#

As far as their wedding party, Betty had asked Veronica to be her maid-of-honour, along with JB and Polly as her bridesmaids.

Meanwhile, Jughead had asked Archie and his father to stand alongside him on the most important day of his life when he would promise himself to the woman who he has loved for as long as he can remember, for the rest of his life.

Betty had initially pushed her fiancé to select another man to join him, worrying about uneven numbers before Jughead had successfully countered her argument. After all, he had explained that Veronica and Archie would be paired up, then FP and JB would be, leaving Polly to partner with their daughter and her niece as flower girl.

It had worked well too with Veronica and Archie organising Betty's bridal shower and Hens night along with Jughead's buck's night not long after they'd initially became engaged, knowing that they'd both be in a better position to organise it _before_ their son's birth than they would be after it, despite it closer to the wedding.

Lastly, it had gone without saying that _of_ _course_ their beautiful little four-year-old would be the flower girl on the most important day of her parents life.

Bailey _adored_ being involved in helping plan her parents wedding. The girly little four-year-old absolutely _loved_ having her say in her flower girl dress, helping her mother to choose her own wedding dress, giving her opinion of which flowers she thought were the prettiest, and above all, her thoughts on the cake testing which her father had _insisted_ that the three of them research extensively.

In fact, Bailey had been unknowingly involved _before_ her parents even got engaged, helping her father go ring-shopping in a story that Jughead shared with his fiancé the day after their engagement...

It had been a few weeks ago, just a few days after the accident that ended with Bailey breaking her arm and ending up in hospital. While engagement had been on the cards for both himself and Betty, Bailey's accident had been a terrifying reminder of how short and fragile life is and it had given Jughead the push that he needed to bite the bullet and propose sooner rather than later.

So, Jughead had arranged to take Bailey shopping one day after offering to take her while Betty was at work. After a little while, he had made a detour from the toy shops, walking them through a couple of jewellery stores and asking his daughter which rings she thought were the prettiest and which were _her_ favourites, amongst other jewellery items to take the focus off of engagement rings, while Jughead had her mother in mind.

He hadn't told Bailey who it was for nor had he made any indication that he was going to buy any of the rings, but he _had_ wanted to involve his daughter in the process and see which ones she liked the best.

Then, in repayment for her help and her silence about their day together, he'd taken his little girl for an ice-cream and bought her a little bracelet of her own on their outing together.

The following day, Jughead had then returned to the shop to purchase Bailey's second favourite ring and the one that had stood out to him for Betty. It was the same ring that he had slid onto her finger just a few weeks later; the ring that she is intending to bear for the rest of her life.

#

Another detail that Jughead and Betty had decided early on in their wedding planning was that they felt that there was no need for both an engagement party _and_ a wedding and that they wanted to surprise their friends and their family by getting married _at_ their engagement party; a detail that they were going to keep to themselves until the day beforehand.

After all, in trying to plan an engagement party, they had found that most things they'd come across they liked _too_ much, wanting to use it for their wedding and struggling to find a second best option which left them with nothing different for an engagement party.

Additionally, they'd found that essentially all the same people would be going to both their engagement party and their wedding. Neither Jughead nor Betty had a massive inner circle -or outer, for that case- and there wasn't many people who they wanted to invite to their engagement party but didn't want at their wedding. So, unlike Archie and Veronica who were now coming up for two years of marriage, Jughead and Betty didn't feel like they needed an enormous 'everyone's invited' engagement party followed by a selectively intimate 'invitation only' wedding day.

Then, the deciding factor had been that neither Jughead nor Betty had wanted a long engagement before getting married. After all, they knew each other as well as they knew themselves, they knew what they were getting themselves into and to be perfectly honest, they just didn't really want to wait that much longer and delay being married.

An engagement party was just added expense, added effort and was going to delay their wedding day even longer when all that they wanted to do was start the rest of their lives together with their little girl.

Then, late the night before their engagement party, Betty sent a single text to her best friend, almost sending her into cardiac arrest while she was feeding her son when she read the message that she and Jughead had sent out to just their bridesmaids and groomsmen.

' _I'm getting married tomorrow.'_

#

The following day and on behalf of the bride and groom, Archie made the announcement to the crowd of friends and family that had gathered to celebrate Jughead and Betty's engagement party, informing them that they'd be celebrating a little _more_ than that...

Their family and friends had gathered together at a property, just outside of the small town. It was a nearby Bed and Breakfast with orchards and lush greenery and gardens sprawled across the large outdoor area where, on a spring's day, Jughead and Betty had chosen as the place where they wanted to say 'I do'.

There was a collective gasp around the grounds when the red-head and best friend of both the bride and groom made the announcement before the guests then calmed down, whispering loudly to each other as they moved to the area where the seating and arch had all been meticulously set up and where Archie and FP joined Jughead at the front.

The music started and one by one, Betty's bridesmaids walked down the aisle; Veronica first, followed by JB and then lastly Polly.

Jughead smiles courteously at each girl -fighting the urge to stick his tongue out at his little sister- as they walk down the aisle to join him and the other boys. But, when Jughead catches sight of the second to last girl to make the venture down the aisle, Jughead can't wipe the enormous grin of pride off his face at seeing his beautiful daughter who was all made-up and looking even older than she already is in the dress to match her mothers that made her feel like a princess.

Veronica had been over and over and over the pacing and the footwork with the little girl more times imaginable in preparation for the walk down the aisle. So, while Bailey did her aunty V proud for most of the way down, no one could blame her for her little blaze of excitement towards her father as she neared the end of the aisle, propelled by a little jig happiness as she launched herself into the safety of Jughead's arms for a quick cuddle before joining him by his side as they -and the rest of the room- await the very last entrant.

It takes his breath away…

The sight before him, the woman who he has loved for as long as he could remember, the woman he had left and the woman who had given him a second chance that he hadn't taken for granted absolutely _took_ his breath away.

Her beauty, her class and her grace both inside out and out was breathtaking. And, standing there, at the end of the aisle, from where she was about to join him as they pledge their lives to each other -for best or worse and through sickness and health- Jughead couldn't feel less deserving.

Feeling tears prick his eyes, Jughead shakes his head to himself, only furthering his smile as she joins his side and takes his hands into hers.

The little gasp and giggle that they hear from by their side and the words that are only loud enough for them to hear proves to be all the comic relief needed to make that moment only a little bit _more_ perfect...

"Look mummy! You made daddy cry!"

Neither, Jughead nor Betty can stop the laugh that elicits from their lips in the private little joke that the family of three shares with each other from in front of their friends and family before Betty smiles kindly to her little girl, pressing a finger to her lips as Jughead murmurs the words that are just for her.

"Bailey's right… Because, even though I know you hate the word, God, you _are_ perfect, Betty Cooper."

His words, the smile on his face and the glazing that she can see in his eyes only fills her own emerald eyes with the glistening tears that she'd been trying her best to contain.

"I promised myself I wouldn't cry today but _then_ you had to say my last name, one last time..."

He chuckled and she swiped at the single tear that was cascading down her cheek while he was doing that little bit better at continuing to contain his own.

Then, together they turn to the celebrant, ready to mark the beginning of the rest of their lives...

#

After the ceremony, after the congratulations -with almost every guest telling them how well they'd pulled it off- and after the meal that had been catered by Pop Tate, dusk began to settle on the property as the guests mingle and enjoy each other's company on the handful of tables that are scattered throughout the simple venue which relied on the beauty of the backdrop surrounding it rather intricate decorations.

The best man and maid of honour are sharing a table in the corner at the moment, away from the soft music, away from the busier tables and away from the louder guests. The two new parents are just sitting there, enjoying the relative peace and quiet and the fact that they know they aren't about to hear their sons familiar cries at any point over the next few hours, trying to appreciate their first evening out and alone since their son's birth, with Veronica's parents caring for their grandson Cruz for the evening.

Veronica's head is rested against her husband's shoulder now that he has stripped down to his white suit shirt after taking off his jacket that is now slung over the back of the chair. In the quiet and as they hold each other and absorb the moment of being together without interruption, Archie just presses a kiss to the very top of her raven head that is leaning against him in _just_ a way so that she won't touch her makeup or disturb her hair for the occasion.

At the moment and just as they have been for the last four months since their son's arrival, they are _exhausted_ … The couple had been coping with the whirlwind of learning curves and new experiences since becoming parents. They'd been getting through it together.

Veronica had found herself doubting her own abilities and comparing herself to her best friend who had seemed to just be a natural born mother, finding that it had taken a little more time for her to get there. But, she was eternally grateful for her husband and his support as they worked through it together, with Archie being a hands-on dad to Cruz, nappies and all, and being the first to pop out of bed as soon as his cries would wake them during the night.

It was tough, but they were getting through it as an even stronger unit and little team.

Then, just a table away, is Jughead's sister who couldn't be _more_ delighted to have gained a sister-in-law today from where she's sitting with her boyfriend and daughter. She's just returned to the table after feeding her newborn baby who she is rocking in her arms, trying to rock Ellie to sleep while Casey's own strong arm is wrapped around her shoulders, leaning her further into him as the two of them whisper and talk, as though it's just the two of them in the love bubble that still hasn't popped for the new couple.

After everything that went down and when her lies came out, Casey and JB had taken a few steps back in order to work towards building their relationship up again, working to make it stronger than ever.

They had started with taking it slow and focusing only _truly_ getting to know each other. In fact, for most of those six months, while there had been romantic nuances and undertones to their interactions, JB had suggested that they predominantly just focus on developing their friendship and rebuilding their trust in each other, slowly beginning to escalate their romance after building their relationship on that sturdy foundation _firstly_.

It had taken the two of them a little bit to come back from the setback of JB's secrets and lies that she'd brought into their relationship. However, they gave it time and they eventually got through it, they got back to that point that they were at to begin with and they continued to progress further from there. In fact, despite the setback and despite the craziness that Ellie brought along with her, the unlikely pair and their relationship were flourishing after finding complete happiness with one another.

Since Jughead had moved out of FP's trailer and had been living between their new house and Betty's apartment in the transition before the three of them shift into the new house together, JB had finally given Bailey her bedroom back and had moved back in with her father in the lead up to and since having her daughter, saving up for someplace small for the two of them.

Upon comparing notes with Veronica and even Betty's memories of a few years ago with Betty, JB had felt like her daughter was a complete angel. But, it still wasn't easy. She was still young and she was still trying to do it all on her own.

Just every so often she would accept a helping hand from one of two men who had her best interests at heart, accepting help from either her father –who had two children and another granddaughter under his belt- or from her boyfriend, despite her stubborn insistence that she didn't want or need help from anyone.

Meanwhile, at the table that had been kept for just the two of them along with their daughter, the bride and groom have _finally_ been left alone since Bailey has just raced off to play hide and seek with two of her cousins under Polly's watchful eye.

Neither Betty nor Jughead could be happier. Neither of them can wipe the smiles off of their faces. Neither one of them can tear their eyes –or their hands- off of each other.

Then, with Betty basically having shifted herself to onto her husband's lap at the table that the two of them are sharing, Jughead finally speaks up, reflecting on what he'd said to her just minutes before they were pronounced man and wife, whispering the same words that are still on his mind to her once again, just with a certain difference this time.

"I know you _still_ hate the word, but you _are_ perfect, Betty Jones..."

#

A little later on in the evening and the group of thirty that have gathered for Jughead and Betty's engagement-party-turned-wedding are being bathed in darkness under the moonlight on the pleasant evening, with just a few lines of fairy lights strung around to light the area.

Jughead and Betty have just danced their first dance as husband and wife before Hal took over for their father and daughter dance, being joined by a few others on the grass in the centre of the area that had been set up for their reception.

Not only is there Hal and Betty, there's Jughead and Bailey, along with FP and JB and in the corner, Casey and Ellie.

Jughead had found Bailey, dancing alongside her for one dance as she giggled through dips and twirls as she was lead by her father before being lifted up into his arms as the two of them sway through the next song.

Just alongside of Jughead and his daughter is own father and sister as FP holds his youngest child against him from where JB is resting her head against him sleepily as the father and daughter listen to the amusing commentary of their granddaughter and niece dancing with her dad nearby while the two of them dance together.

Then, JB momentarily glances over to her boyfriend who is standing over in the quiet of the corner, holding her daughter close to him as he rocks her gently in his arms, stepping from one foot to the other as he whispers soothingly to Ellie to try and get her to sleep.

However, the young girl's attention is caught again from where she'd been gazing over to her boyfriend and her daughter when she hears a little gasp from her niece just after the change of song.

Looking over to Bailey from where she's dancing in Jughead's arms, JB watches her niece whose face is lit up and lively as she tries to catch her mother's attention from across the grassy 'dance floor' where Betty was dancing with her father.

Betty excuses herself from her father after dancing to two songs together, joining her new husband and their daughter as Bailey reaches out to be held by her mother, wrapping her arms around her neck as she explains to her what she had summoned her over to say with excitement.

"Mummy! It's the song!"

As Bailey is talking to her mother, Jughead notes the way that the cool breeze has just begun to pick up around them, slipping his coat jacket off of his own shoulder, sliding it over Bailey's back and hooking it over Betty's smaller frame and shoulders.

"Yeah, you're right, sweetie. You know this one, don't you?" Betty whispers to her daughter as she smiles upon hearing the song playing softly in the background that her daughter has recognised.

It's the song that Betty would sing to her daughter throughout her four years, right from when she was a newborn crying over earaches.

However, before it was Bailey's song, the lullaby that would settle her down through sleepless nights, it was her parent's song. It was their song _first_.

Jughead smiles at what Bailey has just told her mother, looking between the two girls that he has his arms wrapped around before he gives his wife a curious look.

"Hey... I thought this was _our_ song."

"It only became _her_ song after it was _ours_."

So, with a nod to his wife and with their daughter between them as they hold each other and sway, they silently settle that it's _theirs_ , especially now that those words couldn't be truer…

 _Tell me I'm your baby_

 _And you'll never leave me_

 _Tell me that you'll kiss me_

 _ **Forever...**_

* * *

 **So, _technically_ that is the ending, but don't worry, ****we still have the epilogue along with one other little surprise left before we wrap up this world of craziness!** **I know the beginning was a very, very long time ago now, but who noticed the lyrics to 'Tell Me' being a nod to the ending of the very first chapter? I've loved the song ever since I first heard it in Riverdale and to be quite honest, that song was one of the things that initially inspired me to write this story.**

 **Now, for the epilogue, I'm undecided. There is quite a clear first part and second part with different focuses in the epilogue and as it is, it's enormous. So, would you all rather see it all in one hit or posted in two parts but within 1-2 days of each other? Let me know!**

 **Please don't forget to let me know what you thought of this one!**

 **Next chapter: Don't miss the epilogue for a little more wrapping up and bow-tying!**


	66. Epilogue, Part 1

**Thanks to everyone who gave their vote as to how you wanted the epilogue. I think the two-part epilogue idea _just_ won out, which I'd started to feel would work best anyway. **

**Also thank you so much to everyone who was reached this point here in my story. Thank you for putting up with all my words thus far. I hope you'll enjoy some of the last.**

* * *

 **Epilogue, Part 1:**

After their wedding day, the newlyweds had embarked on a two-part honeymoon. The latter part of their honeymoon was a family holiday along with their daughter while the other part certainly was _not_ as Bailey spent a few days with her mother's parents and then the remainder of the time with her grandfather, aunt and cousin.

Following this, the Jones family waited a little over a month before they moved into their new house together; the beautiful four bedroom, two bathroom, white picket fence home that Jughead had announced that he had bought for their family just after he proposed to his new wife a few months ago.

They had given it about six weeks after the wedding before they moved into their new house together to allow Bailey a little time to get used to their household of two becoming a family of three, with Jughead joining his girls full-time in their apartment and the only place that Bailey had known as her home for the interim. After all, there were so many big changes taking place in the little girl's life that her parents were focused on trying to make the transition through those changes as smooth and as undisruptive as possible for her.

After they moved in, Betty especially loved the new house. She loved the plentiful bay windows, she loved the natural light and she loved how bright and happy she felt.

While it had been a home and a haven for both herself and Bailey, Betty's apartment had been a place that was bittersweet. After all, as much as it had been her home, it was a place that had been tainted with the memories of struggle from when Betty had been far too young to move in there along with her small baby all those years ago as she tried to support herself and her daughter physically, financially and emotionally when she still felt like she needed that help _herself_.

So, rather than just being a place where she worked to simply make ends meet as she put her all into supporting herself and her daughter all while playing the abundance of different roles that Bailey needed at such a young age herself, her new house _truly_ became a haven _.._.

It was a comfort and solace... It was a place where she was supported, where she could go home and feel safe and loved and happy with her husband and daughter, rather than having to carry her struggles in silence, focusing on being the stronghold for herself and her daughter.

It was the fresh start and the new beginning that proved to be everything that Betty never knew she needed.

Meanwhile, after hearing her mother raving about her favourite feature of their new home -the bay windows- over and over again conversationally, Bailey had decided that she too loved the "Bay's windows" that she'd race around the home claiming as her _own_ _,_ believing they'd been named after her.

However, while she also loved the enormous backyard and the tree house out the back, Bailey had taken a little while to settle into her new bedroom. So, for a while there, her parents found that they'd frequently been getting a little, nightly four-year-old visitor which hadn't _quite_ been a part of the newlywed's plans.

Then, almost just as soon as the Joneses had _begun_ to settle into their new house -and Bailey her new room- the little girl had caught baby fever...

Actually, to be perfectly honest, it hit all three of them hard _, unsurprisingly._

After all, between seeing baby Cruz with Veronica and Archie or catching up with and offering to babysit baby Ellie for JB and Casey, it felt like the Joneses were _constantly_ with either one of the two babies.

As she held her two best friends' son or her baby niece who had been named after her, Betty couldn't resist reminiscing back to when _her_ baby was that age, relishing in the certain scent of a newborn as she held either Cruz or Ellie in her arms, swaying and rocking to soothe them like it was a practiced art form after the many, many hours she had spent doing same with Bailey.

Each time Jughead held his niece, he couldn't tear his mind away from thinking about and imagining his own daughter being so small, with such tiny fingers and toes and the smallest little yawns on her own lips, all of which he'd missed out on all those years ago.

Meanwhile, Bailey was absolutely delighted with her two little friends. She adored playing with Archie and Veronica's son Cruz, trying to make him smile, and she loved holding her new baby cousin Ellie.

In fact, Bailey's baby fever was _no_ secret, especially not to her parents and especially on what had been one usual Tuesday afternoon as Betty is racing out the door to do the grocery shopping for their household, pressing a quick kiss to her husband's lips and ruffling their daughter's hair on the way out.

"Is there anything else we need?"

It's habit. Betty asks the question over her shoulder every time she's on the way out of the house.

Normally Jughead will speak up and say something in answer to his wife's question –usually something stupid- but never does Bailey.

Until the day she _does_.

"Can you buy me a baby? Please."

A hint of irritation is evident in Betty's eyebrows as they furrow, remembering back to cleaning up Bailey's abundance of toys while she was at kindergarten that morning as she tries to find her keys and ensures that she has her phone on her.

"You have _enough_ dolls, Bailey. Actually, you have too many, in fact."

Bailey's response is instantaneous and a little frustrated, just like her mother.

"No! Not a _doll_ baby. A _real_ baby, mummy... _Please_."

While her eyes widen as she stops on the spot for a moment, Betty is momentarily setback from her daughter's request. However, she quickly recovers and responds to Bailey.

"You can't actually _buy_ a baby from the shops, sweetie. A baby needs to grow in its mummy's tummy for a long time first."

Bailey nods at her mother, looking perplexed as her eyes gaze down to her own stomach before she looks back up to Betty. Meanwhile, Bailey's dad had been unusually quiet from where he was slinking in the background since the moment his daughter first responded to his wife's question which is hardly surprising, especially when Bailey fires her next question.

"How does a baby get in its mummy's tummy?"

With her eyes growing big and wide again, Betty just bites her lip and opens the door that she'd been standing near after being delayed from her departure following her daughter's string of questions.

Then, hearing Bailey's latest one, it only prompts Betty to finally open the door and begin to leave with an apologetic grin to Jughead who looks completely and utterly betrayed by his wife from where he's cowering in the corner, with his hand in a bowl of popcorn.

" _Ooh_ , the shops are shutting soon. Bye you two..."

However, what little Bailey _didn't_ know was that her parents had already been planning to start trying for a baby three months after their wedding...

#

Following their three-month-plan that had ended up becoming only two-and-a-half-months for the equally eager _and_ clucky newlyweds, Jughead and Betty hadn't known that she would fall pregnant within three months of them trying and all within six months of their wedding.

However, in that time and during the matter of months, Jughead was hypersensitive and alert to his wife. It was almost paranoia for him. It was as though after missing out on so much with their first pregnancy, he was hyper-alert to and fearful of missing their second; anxious that she'd be pregnant without them even knowing it again.

In fact, after barely a month of trying, he'd convinced her to take a test in case she was pregnant and just not experiencing any noticeable symptoms, declaring that: _"I've read about that happening, you know!"_

Any little sign or symptom even _remotely_ connected to pregnancy had him on high-alert, pulling Betty aside with wide eyes that stayed hopeful no matter how many times he'd asked her the very same question... " _Hey Betts,_ _do you think that you're..._?"

So, ironically, the day when Betty found herself pulling out another one of their few backup home pregnancy tests that they'd been keeping stored away in the back of their cupboard, Jughead had no idea. Her symptoms had slipped right through his radar.

Really, though, Betty didn't _know_ either. After all, she'd only had a very slight inkling when everything was still explainable.

After all, while she'd suffered with borderline _violent_ morning sickness throughout her first trimester during her pregnancy with Bailey, Betty didn't feel any nausea whatsoever and she didn't even feel as tired as she had as an exhausted teenage girl who found herself faced with a terrifyingly positive pregnancy test.

In fact, the only real indicators were that she was only just a few days late and that she felt just a little more tired than she thought she should have been.

However, while it started out a just a few small suspicions, a little later on that afternoon Betty found out that it was actually one _big_ thing.

#

After her husband finally came home from work that day, Betty _waited_...

She waited for him to shower both herself and their daughter with attention as he always would as soon as he got home.

She waited for Jughead to spend a little longer than usual listening to and hearing _all_ about Bailey's day and her first kindergarten excursion as he joins her on the lounge, cuddling her, from where she'd been tiredly watching cartoons after her big day.

She waited for him to have his shower and change into his comfier clothes for the evening ahead.

She waited for him to have a snack right before dinner after insisting that he was _ravenous_ , continuing to eat the roast that she'd made especially for tonight like it was going out of fashion.

She waited for him to put their daughter to bed and read Bailey her million bedtime stories for tonight before he collapsed into their own bed, too.

Then, when she finally had a moment and a chance, she seized it, creeping into their bedroom to see him where he was rolled onto his side, laying there on his phone and waiting for her to join him after she'd finished cleaning up from dinner.

"Babe? Are you awake?"

"Mm..."

Nipping at her lip, Betty second-guesses her timing and whether she should just leave it until tomorrow if he's already winding down and trying to sleep. She doesn't _want_ to wait, but she knows that she needs to find the right time to tell him. So, as she wars with the decision, she tries to ascertain whether or not she should tell him now or wait until tomorrow.

"Jug? Is now a bad time? Have you got a minute?"

He must hear something unspoken in her voice because his head instantly flies up from where he'd been laying against his pillow, immediately looking over to her.

"Are you okay?"

Even after she nods slowly, joining him as she collapses down onto and kneels down beside him on his side of the bed, Jughead looks concerned. It's as though he's hearing and reading something else in her, powering him to sit up and look at her, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear as she simultaneously tries to reassure him while also finding the way to share their news with him.

"I'm okay, Jug. _Really_. I'm great..."

Jughead nods, continuing to watch her closely with concern as he threads their fingers through each others before she looks over to him once again.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but do you have just a few moments for us to talk?" Betty asks apologetically, though he doesn't hesitate in nodding once again, watching her intently to encourage her to continue speaking.

However, as he observes her silently, Jughead can't help the way that the smallest of smiles quirks on the corner of his lips from her question and her evident nerves. After all, since when does she _ask_ him if she can talk to him?

Then, clutching onto his hands from where they are intertwined with her own, Betty takes a deep breath, smiling, as she looks into his worried blue eyes with her own sparkling green ones.

"I took another test today..."

Even just the flicker of possibility and the glimpse at the idea of what she may be preparing to tell him leaves Jughead feeling the nerves pulsing through him.

Although he has a pretty good idea of what's coming next seeing as how actively they've been pursuing it, he can still feel his heart racing given that after months of being on high alert to every little symptom and change in his wife, uttering _"do you think that you're...?"_ more times that he could keep count of, she might finally _be_.

Nipping at her lip as she takes another deep breath before finally sharing the result that they'd been waiting for with him, Betty's eyes don't leave her husband as she looks to him, waiting to see what he's thinking and how he's feeling.

"The test was positive... We're pregnant, Jug."

For what feels what the longest time, he just watches her.

He analyses her and her words that she's just uttered to him aloud for a few, serious moments. In fact, he even _squints_ as though he's trying to ensure his eyes and ears aren't deceiving him.

Then, he _finally_ looks at her with equal parts wonder and love written all over his face.

"You're pregnant...? We're pregnant?!"

Looking at him, nodding to him, Betty can't wipe the smile off of her face as she sees the look on his before he wraps her arms her, hugging her, holding her, kissing her, pulling her downwards as they collapse onto their mattress together, before worrying he's holding her too tight, apologising to her and just settling with smothering her with hugs and kisses instead.

"Wow... _Wow.._."

It's the first word that he can manage to utter when he finally recovers from the initial high of their news, repeating it, with the smile still ever-present on her lips as she watches him.

Then, as he runs a hand down the side of her face watching her intently as he holds her closely to him, Jughead turns his concerns to her.

"How are you? Are you feeling okay? Are you sick at all?"

"I'm fine. I mean, I still might not have hit the worst of it yet, but I feel fine at the moment. If anything, I'm just a little more tired than usual, but nothing major... I'm _happy_...That's how I feel."

Jughead smiles at what she's telling him. He'd read of the hell that she'd been through during her pregnancy with Bailey thanks to her documenting those nine months of her life, starting just a month after he'd left her for four years. So, hearing that she's not suffering through the same morning sickness and levels of tiredness that she had right from early on in her first pregnancy makes him glad to hear it.

Then, as she looks down to the way her fingers are threaded through his as she snuggles a little closer into his arms from where they're sitting there together on the side of their bed, Betty continues to elaborate on how she's feeling.

"It's so relieving to be _happy_... To be pregnant, but feel safe and secure... To have been holding a positive pregnancy test and not be crying on the floor feeling completely terrified... To not have to be worried about you, about where you are and about whether or not you're safe... To have you _here_... I'm happy, Jug. I really am."

Listening to her words, he just nods -a bittersweet smile on his lips- as he reaches down, his hand touching his wife's stomach where their second, unborn child is growing within her; a luxury that the two of them had never shared as she carried their first daughter.

#

Throughout the months that followed, Jughead was there for absolutely _everything_.

It was almost as though he felt that he was making up for everything he had missed out on being there for the first time, trying to make up for it twice as much with this pregnancy.

Giving his usual fiction reads a miss, he read every pregnancy and prenatal book he could get his hands on and he read every baby blog he came across. He tracked their baby's growth and development each week. He checked Betty's physical developments daily. He took photos of her every angle each week and he provided for her cravings basically _before_ she even craved them. He went to every birthing class. He never missed a single minute of a single appointment. Really, he just did everything and _anything_ to prepare for their second child, supporting Betty any way possible throughout those months.

Not only was it a pregnancy that Jughead could be there for in its entirety -having the chance to experience _everything_ \- but it was also a pregnancy that Betty could actually enjoy rather than just make it through. She wasn't stressed with limitless burdens and stresses as she prepared to be a single mother at sixteen during her pregnancy with Bailey and she was even able to enjoy the experience of being pregnant and becoming a mother again, all the while having him by her side as their family grew.

However, though Betty was able to enjoy the experience of her second pregnancy far more while Jughead was able to simply just enjoy the experience of being _there_ , both of them kept in mind that as much as they can feel that they had been robbed of sharing the same opportunity together once before and with Betty's pregnancy with Bailey, deep down they both know that that's not _really_ the case.

After all, while they were able to enjoy their pregnancy with their second child _together_ , they can appreciate that even if Jughead had of been there for Betty while she was pregnant with Bailey -the pregnancy he hadn't known about until four years later- it still would never have been the same as it is now...

They _still_ would have been teen parents with Betty falling pregnant at sixteen...

They _still_ would have been navigating a relatively new relationship...

They _still_ would have been in school...

They _still_ would have been the children in poor and worse family situations...

They wouldn't have been married with a few more years of age and the experience of one child under their belt that they are now...

So, as much as they have loved the experience and the opportunity of sharing Betty's second pregnancy together, deep down, they know that as much as they will always wish that he had been there for their first, it never would have been the same as what they're experiencing now and together.

#

As for Bailey, her parents had waited to tell their firstborn until just before they started telling their friends and family, telling her first at around the twelve week mark.

Bailey was _thrilled_. It was like a dream come true for the four-year-old who imagined she was just getting a real version of her favourite baby doll.

As soon as a bump began to become evident in her mother's frame, she loved laying her head on Betty's stomach, claiming she could hear her baby sibling. She was fascinated by watching her mum's stomach grow from knowing that a baby was inside there. Then, as the weeks passed by, she eventually loved to press her little hands against her mum's tummy, trying to feel her baby sibling kick.

Plus, Bailey was old enough to understand and enthuse over how big her baby brother or sister was getting from within her mother's stomach each week as Jughead announced to his girls whether the baby was the size of a strawberry or an apple or a sweet potato this week.

Then, in contrast to the summery morning when her sister was born, Jughead and Betty's second daughter entered the world on a cold November's evening. And, while Bailey's hair was barely evident from birth, her little sister wore a head full of dark locks.

"She looks so much like Bailey when she was born..." Betty murmurs, running her fingertip gently over her baby and her beautiful features, comparing her to her first child.

"Really?"

Jughead's response sounds a little surprised given that he's only seeing the _differences_ between his girls as he studies his youngest.

They were both a little bit right. After all, the resemblance between the two girls and the two sisters at the same age was noticeable. If you compared the two, you'd definitely be able to tell that they are sisters.

But, while both of her parents were evident in Bailey with just as much of her mother visible in her as her father was, her little sister definitely swayed more to one side... The newborn was _all_ Jughead with her softer features, her dark locks and her eyes that were just a touch more green than her dad's.

So, in response, Betty's eyes just flicker up to her husband's with a smile.

" _Yeah_... They both look like their dad."

Though Jughead's remark is self-deprecating and his words don't convey it, he can't hold back the proud smile on his face.

"Poor kids."

#

Seeing as she'd had the sole choice over Bailey's name, from early on in her pregnancy Betty had declared that she was going to leave the responsibility of naming their second child with her husband.

When Jughead reveals the name that he'd chosen for their daughter to his wife, she is holding their baby in her arms on the hospital bed as the two of them look down to their latest creation.

Then, he finally tells her that he wanted to pay tribute to Doug with her name as a posthumous 'thank you' for all his old friend had done for him, with Jughead knowing that he would most likely not be sitting there here and now, that he wouldn't have been encouraged to return home to Riverdale and that they wouldn't have their home that they have if it weren't for Doug.

It was a lovely sentiment. So, Betty had done her absolute best to contain her reaction to a yelped 'oh' sound that she tried to make sound intentional, stopping herself from dying with her leg in the air as she kept both her expression and voice as neutral as possible as she uttered:

"So you wanted to name her, _Doug_?"

Looking at his wife and seeing the controlled look on her face that is a little more neutral than it should be as she contains her _real_ reaction, Jughead begins to laugh.

"Wow, I love you... You would have been willing to let me name our daughter Doug? You are an absolute _saint_ , Betts."

Following his response, Betty exhales an audible sigh of relief over the fact that she'd been wrong in her understanding of her husband's statement, her head collapsing against his shoulder.

Then, after a few moments, she looks back up to Jughead with evident confusion.

"So what do you mean then?"

Looking between his wife and their daughter who is lying in her arms, Jughead reaches out to stroke the baby's plump cheek as a smile begins to curl on the corners of Jughead's lips before he speaks up.

"I was thinking Blake... Doug's name was Douglas _Blake_."

This time, a genuine smile spreads across Betty's face as her gaze is cast between her husband and their baby.

"Blake Jones..." she utters, saying the name aloud to hear it for herself before Jughead speaks up, repeating the same name, along with the inclusion of his middle name of choice for their second daughter.

"Blake _Elizabeth_ Jones."

Looking up to her husband with a smile and glassy eyes, then back down to their baby girl, Betty begins to nod, pairing the name with that of her big sister's before finalising her opinion.

"Bailey and Blake... I love it."

#

Bailey met Blake for the very first time when her grandfather brought her in to the hospital to see her parents and meet her new baby sister after her birth.

At first, the little girl, now five, gasped with audible delight upon the sight of what was in her mother's arms when they first walked into the room.

"Why don't you come and sit on daddy's lap and have a cuddle?" Jughead suggests with Bailey's grandfather helping her onto Jughead's lap from where he's sitting beside his wife on the hospital bed.

Then, once Bailey is settled and comfortable on her dad's lap with her eyes fixed on the baby in her mother's arms beside her, Jughead takes their youngest daughter from his wife, holding Blake securely within his own arms as he supports Bailey to hold her.

Despite their fixation on their youngest daughter since her arrival, Jughead and Betty's eyes are glued on their eldest as she holds her baby sister in her arms who is also being held more securely and supportively by Jughead from where Bailey sits on his lap. Both her parents are watching her and her expression intently, watching as the delight on Bailey's face changes and as her face scrunches up while her blonde eyebrows furrow tightly.

"What's wrong, Bailey?" Betty asks with concern, watching the change on the five-year-olds face after six months of excitement in the lead up to this very moment.

Looking between her baby sister and her mother who is also growing worried, Bailey just speaks up honestly, sharing her concerns.

"Um... I don't think she's _our_ baby, mummy."

Bailey's remark sends both Jughead and Betty's gaze to fly to their eldest daughter who they watch with confusion, both of them asking her the same question.

"Why not?"

"Bailey looks like _mummy_ " Bailey begins, likely referring to her most obvious similarity with her mother being the girls same, golden blonde locks. After all, her mother would beg to differ on that one, seeing just as much of her father in the girl as she saw herself.

"But, she doesn't look like mummy _or_ daddy _or_ Bailey. She doesn't look like a baby. She just looks like a baby hedgehog... I think the mummy and daddy hedgehog lost their baby. We found her!"

Neither of Bailey's parents knows quite what to say to that, muffling their chuckles and biting their lips to contain their amusement as they look between each other and their eldest daughter who is still eyeing their beautiful newborn off suspiciously as she holds her in her arms.

Then, as though she'd known what her sister was saying about her, Blake hadn't lasted too long in Bailey's arms before she started to grizzle and squirm while Bailey grew panicked as though she'd unwittingly released the kraken.

As soon as Blake's face began to scrunch up unhappily as her tiny mouth began to open to cry the cries that took her a few tries before they were audible, Jughead quickly stepped in, scooping his youngest daughter up from his eldest's arms declaring: " _I think she wants her mum..."_ as he looked down at her, stroking her fine, dark hair and wondering if she's due for another feed.

However, just as her father is handing her mother the new baby that has just entered their lives, Bailey's eyes grow wide in horror as she performs a stealthy manoeuvre, darting into Betty's arms before Jughead has a chance to pass her Blake.

" _No_! She's **my** mummy!"

As they look to each other with similar expressions, both Jughead and Betty would swear that they caught a glimpse of a death glare in their eldest daughter's blue eyes as she looked to her sister in her dad's arms.

The two young parents stay silent for a moment, trying to think how to handle Bailey and her possessiveness regarding her new baby sister.

" _Of course_ I'm your mummy, Bailey-girl... But, I'm also baby Blake's mummy now, _too_. Daddy and I are _her_ mummy and daddy as well as _yours_ , Bailey..." Betty explains, stroking her daughter's golden locks before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Then in her explanation, Betty effectively turns the emphasis back on Bailey, giving her someone _else_ to be possessive of, too. In doing so, Betty doesn't let herself think too deeply about whether her reasoning is _phenomenal_ parenting or _poor_.

"But, Blake's _your_ sister, too, Bailey."

Suddenly a little twinkle fills the little girl's eye as she looks at her newborn baby sister in a new light, reaching out to stroke the side of her face.

"She's mine... She's _my_ baby hedgehog."

#

Blake's birth had coincided nicely with winter holidays and just a few weeks after she was brought home from hospital, her big sister was on school holidays over winter break.

Mind you, following Blake's arrival and while they adjusted to becoming a family of four, her parents had let her have a few too many days off and at home with them; reasoning that given she's only in her first year, she'd only be playing at _home_ rather than playing at _school_.

Bailey _adored_ Blake.

She was a little sister and her very own doll all in one. Big-sister-Bailey loved helping Betty out with her and she frequently tried to incorporate Blake into the games she'd play near her in the baby bouncer.

"Here, Blake! Hold this!" Bailey would exclaim, leaving some of her smaller toys on her legs to mind for her as she continued to play nearby.

Either that or she'd incorporate Blake into whatever she was pretending to do or play with while her sister was nearby, sometimes coming out with things like " _Okay! Good idea! You stay in the car, Blake, I'll 'stract the baddie!"_

However, Bailey playing with Blake quite often meant that she'd change her name for _entire_ days at a time, calling her by a movie character (Simba, Elsa and Buzz Lightyear were regulars) or calling by the name of a friend in her class and even telling her parents off for calling Blake, _Blake_.

The two sisters had come a _long_ way from the first time Bailey held Blake on their mother's hospital bed, just after declaring that her newborn sister was a baby hedgehog.

And, while Bailey loved helping out with caring for her sister and while she loved spending time with her, Blake was just as taken with her big sister. In fact, as Jughead and Betty's youngest daughter slowly became increasingly familiar with certain things and faces, one of the first things that Blake would be on the lookout for as she slowly learnt to manoeuvre her head was her sister, looking for where she was, frequently trying to watch Bailey; especially as she would play.

Seeing the developing bond between their girls, made both their parents weak at the knees just as the thought of it, melting their hearts at the love and connection that they had no doubt would last a lifetime.

#

Moments alone and moments of peace and quiet had become rarities in the Jones household, especially since Blake's arrival.

So, when they find that their youngest daughter has let them sleep in a little later than normal on a Saturday morning as they wake up without alarms and crying babies, it instantly gets their morning off to a good start.

"Good morning, Mrs. Jones..." Jughead whispers to his wife with a grin from where they lay side-by-side, watching each other, their faces warm with love.

Betty returns his smile, leaning over to press a good morning kiss to his lips which he returns and they deepen, decidedly seize the moment and make the most of their first morning without any rude awakenings or kids in their bed for as long as they can remember...

However, just moments after their morning wake up begins to heat up, the sound of familiar cries fills their bedroom through the monitor as though their newborn knows just _what_ she's sabotaging.

As much as he loves his daughter, Jughead flops to the mattress with a groan as Betty sniggers to herself. She's biting her own lip in amusement as she suppresses her own disappointment over the anticlimactic turn that their morning has made as she pushes the covers off herself to get up and attend to their baby.

"She's your kid, Jug... You can't blame her that she's got your appetite. I'll get her."

"All I'm saying is that couldn't she have waited just a _few_ minutes? I've read that apparently babies cry and disturb their parents as a preventative to stop their parents making any more babies. I think they're onto something with that one..."

Betty laughs out loud at her husband's theory as she gets up, smoothing her clothes down as she begins to walk off only to stop in the doorway to look back at her husband.

"Not true... It never stopped Bailey screaming the house down at Blake's age and believe me when I say that she had _nothing_ to worry about in that department."

Just a few minutes later, Betty returns to their bedroom with Blake in her arms. She's already beginning to calm down simply from her mother's presence and touch, almost as though she's anticipating what is coming next for her.

Meanwhile Jughead props up the pillows on Betty's side of the bed, routinely fluffing them up for her to aid her in getting comfortable as she joins Jughead in bed again, sliding the spaghetti string of her silky nightgown down before guiding her daughter who needs little assistance before she latches on hungrily.

"Good morning, baby girl..." Jughead smiles looking down to his baby in his wife's arms, squeezing Blake's booty-clad little feet and watching as she suckles away, kicking her little legs with excitement. In that moment, Jughead can't wipe the smile off his face at the feeling of warmth and complete love for two of his three girls.

In fact, he can't take his eyes off of the mother and daughter as he watches in awe, watching while Betty sinks a little deeper into the pillows comfortably as she reclines back while her body sustains their daughter.

Once she's fed, Betty hands Blake over to Jughead to burp her after feeding. Then, just as Blake is beginning to drift off and fall back to sleep within her father's arms, the three Joneses are all equally taken by surprise by the arrival that they hadn't been aware of until she catapulted herself into Jughead and Betty's bed, launching herself into the middle of the bed between her parents and sister.

"GOOD MORNING!" Bailey just about shouts after jumping onto the bed to join them, propelled further by her flying start and run up.

Simultaneously feeling their heart pound with surprise over the unexpected greeting and fearing how badly it could have ended if their eldest had collided with their youngest, Jughead and Betty find themselves telling Bailey what will be the first of many reminders today: "gentle, Bailey! You have to be careful with Blake..."

As though for added emphasis after her sister is told off, Blake's face begins to scrunch up unhappily and her bottom lip forms a pout as she begins to give way to tears from the fright.

Hearing the baby begin to cry is far more effective, having a greater impact on Bailey than her parents disciplinary words do. Instantly, the five-year-old leans down, looking to the baby with concern.

"I'm sorry, Blakey... It's just me. It's Bailey. I'm your big sister. It's okay, Blakey. Don't be scared."

Watching as Bailey gently presses a kiss to the top of her little sister's head, Betty watches her eldest daughter console her youngest from where's nestled within her father's arms, the scene before her melting her.

" _Oh_ , be still my beating heart..." Betty murmurs to her husband who returns her smile and the feeling she's experiencing, watching on in awe of their daughters.

Then, as Betty rests her own head against her husband's shoulder, Bailey sinks into her mother's arms for a morning cuddle too while Jughead continues rocking Blake in his arms, against his chest.

The family of four lay there contently together for a few minutes as Betty and Jughead cuddle their girls clinging onto and appreciating the moment that they wish they could freeze and suspend in time forever.

Eventually it's Jughead who breaks the silence, unable to contain his own feelings silently anymore, needing to share the love and the adoration that he's feeling for his wife and their babies.

"My... beautiful... girls..."

Jughead utters, pausing between each word to allow him just enough time to press a kiss to the top of each girl's head; first to Blake's, then Bailey's and finally a lingering one on Betty's forehead.

"When did I ever get so lucky?"

* * *

 **One of the main reasons I was feeling tempted to divide the epilogue was so that I could truly focus on introducing the newest member of the Jones family. So, I hope you all enjoyed the spotlight being on little Blake and her arrival! I'd love to know what you all thought.**

 **Next chapter: After pain, love, second chances, fresh starts and 66 chapters, how does it all end?**


	67. Epilogue, Part 2

**Heads up, I only posted the first part of the epilogue just a few days ago, so if you haven't already had a chance to see or read the first part you might want to check that one out before you read the second part of the epilogue!**

* * *

 **Epilogue, Part Two:**

Arriving at FP's trailer, Betty releases Blake from her car seat, gently lifting her out and into her arms while Jughead opens the child-locked door on the other side of the car to let Bailey climb out independently.

Pulling out the bottles of soft drink and the extravagant cheese grazing platter that Betty had made up for them to take along, Jughead juggles both in one hand, locking the car with the other before taking his five-year-old's hand into his as they join Betty who has Blake's baby bag slung over one shoulder as she holds their baby in her other arm.

"Bay, do you want to knock for us?" Jughead asks, prompting the little girl given that both he and his wife have their hands full with carrying everything in.

Bailey doesn't need to be asked twice before she races up to her mother's side, giving a knock on the door her best shot before she grins proudly, looking up to Betty who is holding her little sister. Meanwhile, in her mother's arms, Blake is beginning to squirm and wake up since being rudely disturbed from her nap after dozing off during the short car ride to her grandfather's.

Within moments of Bailey knocking, FP answers the door to the young family after inviting them all over for a BBQ dinner and to spend the day at his trailer for a family afternoon.

"Grandpa!" Bailey squeals with instant delight, throwing her arms out and open to her beloved grandfather.

FP showed no special treatment nor did he have any bias towards any one of his three, beautiful granddaughters. But, he and Bailey were incredibly close with the two of them sharing a very special bond.

After all, seeing as the two of them would spend an entire day with each other, once a fortnight for most of Bailey's life, they had developed a very connection with each other. Even after the horrible accident that had landed Bailey in hospital and wracked FP with guilt, that bond couldn't be altered nor could it be broken.

So, responding to his eldest granddaughter's excited greeting, he picks her up, he presses a kiss into her braided blonde locks and he gives her a hug as he holds her in his arms before placing her back down on the ground in order to greet the rest of Bailey's family.

FP gives Betty a careful hug, being especially mindful of the baby within her arms, before he turns his attention to his youngest granddaughter, gently stroking the side of her face with the pad of his thumb, smiling at her as he coos: _"look at you, princess... You are just getting way too big, way too fast."_

Then, finally he tears his eyes away from Blake to throw his arms around his son in a man-hug.

"Come in! Come on in, guys. The others are already here" FP adds enthusiastically, stepping away from the front door.

As he steps away, he reveals where JB and Casey are standing side-by-side further inside and on the other side of the living area in the trailer. Their arms are wrapped around each other's backs as JB lent against her boyfriend just a little before they untangle themselves from each other in order to greet the other Joneses.

Meanwhile, Bailey had already raced ahead of her parents, giving both her aunt and Casey a quick hug before joining her younger cousin on the floor by the coffee table where she'd been playing with Hot Dog.

"Bay-ee!" exclaimed Ellie who is coming up for two, releasing a little gasp at the sight of her cousin who she absolutely adored and idolised, believing she was _so_ cool and _so_ big at the grand old age of five.

However, at seeing the other couple across the room, after setting down the drinks and the cheese platter on the bench top, Jughead can't hide his smirk, nor can he stop himself from taunting his younger sister.

"No way, JB got here _first_? First time for everything..." Jughead quips, knowingly teasing his younger sister after his dad's remark, resulting in the offended look on JB's face as she walks across the room as the two siblings throw their arms around each other in a big, almost aggressive bear-hug.

"So how are you going, little sis?" Jughead murmurs into his sister's hair as they hug.

After pulling away to look up at her older brother, JB smiles before answering his question to her.

"I'm good. We're good. Ellie's been in training for the terrible twos this last week but other than that, we're good" JB explains as she glances over to her daughter, quickly checking on her and her whereabouts.

After things settled down for her during the second half of her pregnancy, JB had just taken her daughter's arrival and motherhood all in her stride. In fact, even Betty had been impressed (and a little bit envious) at how she had taken to it.

She was relaxed, she takes it day by day, she trusts her gut and she tried to listen to what her daughter was trying to tell her from before she could even talk. Meanwhile, Betty ever the overachiever knew that she had the inclination to overthink _everything_ , a habit she was still trying to shake since having her second daughter.

Meanwhile, beside the brother and sister, Betty and Casey share a brief hug before Jughead and JB step away from each other allowing the two men to shake hands as the sister-in-laws hug warmly.

Their situation and close families meant that the two exes had almost as much to do with each other as when they were together. It had the potential to become awkward but given that they'd never broken up badly, they'd never lost the initial friendship and respect for each other that had blossomed into a relationship all those years ago and given that both Betty and Casey were just happy that the other person was happy and had found happiness -even if it was with someone else- they made their dealings with each other work after moving on with their respective partners.

After Betty and JB pull away from each other, the younger of the two turns her attention to her niece in Betty's arms, cooing at the baby girl as she touches Blake's little feet. When Betty offers her daughter to JB, the baby's aunt doesn't need to be asked twice before she takes her in her own arms, expertly rocking Blake.

Then, upon offloading their youngest daughter to give JB some time with her niece, Jughead and Betty check on their eldest, walking over to where Bailey and Ellie are playing together with Hot Dog.

However, after looking up and noticing her parent's presence and that neither of them are holding her baby sister that she's come to grow very attached to, Bailey casts her big, blue eyes further with concern.

"Where's Blakey?" Bailey asks worriedly, not even noticing that her cousin has just ripped the toy that she'd been playing with out of her hands as she looks to her parents.

"Aunty JB's holding her" Jughead explains pointing over to the corner of the room where his sister has since taken his daughter over to Casey, the two of them cooing over the baby in JB's arms together. "See?"

A look fills Bailey's face; a mix of panic and concern. Then, she looks back to her dad as she begins to get up from playing with Ellie.

"She's _my_ baby sister."

While Bailey's possessiveness had originally been directed _towards_ Blake as a result of having to share her parents, it didn't take long at all for the dynamics to shift again and before her sister came under the five-year-olds blanket of possessiveness also, including her too.

"I know, Bay, settle down... Aunty JB's going to give Blake back to us but she's just giving her a cuddle for a few minutes first."

Listening to her dad but not necessarily _liking_ it, Bailey just looks over, sending a warning little glare in the direction of her aunt who she normally adores before sitting back down with Ellie and Hot Dog.

Then, as though Bailey's distraction is contagious, just after _she_ overcomes it, Ellie too seems to notice the same baby in the same woman's arms -her _own_ mother's arms- exhibiting a similar reaction to her cousin's. So, just as Bailey had minutes ago, Ellie gets up from where the girls are playing together, too. Noticing this as her cousin begins to leave her with an unhappy little squeal, Bailey attempts to console Ellie as though she believes that her cousin is concerned about the same thing that _she_ had been.

"Oh, it's okay, Ellie... She's giving Blake back to me later."

However, with her own agenda, the little girl toddles over to her mother and the man who had become like her father in her little brown eyes, protesting her displeasure in her mum's attention towards her cousin.

"Mummy! Me!" Ellie squeals, holding her arms up to be held by JB, to which Casey just responds to by picking her up and holding her next to her mum, showing her the baby that she's holding in her arms.

"Look, Ellie... It's a baby. It's baby Blake" Casey says to the little girl, speaking to her softly in an attempt to ease her agitation before playfully ruffling the curls of loose hair that hung around her face affectionately.

Her hair is lighter than her mother's locks, though not as light as Betty and Bailey's golden hair. Ellie's was somewhere in the middle; more of a light, mousy brown.

Aside from that, the little girl was entirely her mother. In fact, for her family who had never even seen nor met the man who had contributed to the other half of Ellie, none of them could identify _what_ she must have inherited from him seeing as she looked like she got just about everything from her mother.

Over the year-and-a-half that was nearing two years since Ellie's birth along with the seven months before that, JB hadn't seen or heard from the biological father of her daughter, aside from the two cheques with just a small sum of money that he'd received from his own parents attached to them which he had sent almost a year apart.

Meanwhile, after he picks her up, both JB and Casey watch little Ellie with their attention glued to her as she observes the four-month-old baby intently with great caution. They can tell that she's not too sure about Blake from where she's being held in her mum's arms and they can see that she's wary of her, something that they have to stop themselves from sniggering at, especially after they lock eyes, sharing each other's amusement over Ellie's hostility towards her new cousin that is a direct result of jealousy.

However, the two of them had been curious about how Ellie would react to a baby -especially one in her mother's arms- seeing as it had been a point of discussion between the two adults over the last couple of weeks. The topic had arisen a few times lately as the two halves of the couple shared the feeling of their relationship continuing to progress and feeling themselves looking to take the next step in their relationship after over two years together.

While Casey had made no secret of hoping for a larger family –they both did- Casey understood that his girlfriend was younger than he was and that Ellie wasn't even two yet, so as a result of their discussions, Casey had put the timing on that idea _completely_ in JB's court for her to decide on whenever she was ready.

After all, in addition to juggling Ellie, JB had decided to continue studying, taking up a community college course in graphic design which she'd been working towards completing.

In addition to that, there was another little goal on JB's mind. It was an idea that she'd been playing around with for a little while now, but she'd wanted to wait until they'd reached their second anniversary. But, now, since reaching that milestone a few weeks ago, she was just waiting for the perfect idea to strike her.

She was going to ask Casey to marry her.

She didn't know how or when she was planning to do it, but the decisive young woman knew that she wanted to propose to him and she knew that she was going to do it, with the idea of a long engagement being the stepping stones leading to forever.

It wasn't as though the thought of an engagement hadn't _occurred_ to Casey and that JB had just grown tired of feeling as though he was never going to do it so she'd decided to take action for herself. The thought _had_ occurred to Casey. It _definitely_ had.

However, after one broken engagement and getting close to another in the past, he had been a little cautious about the idea, not wanting to propose too soon, especially considering that girlfriend was younger than he was and he wasn't sure if she was ready for that step yet.

But, JB was convinced that the man she was in love with was the man she wanted to promise to spend the rest of her life with.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Jughead and Betty are cuddled up on the couch in the trailer with FP sitting on the ground with Bailey and Hot Dog as she tells him _all_ about her week. With their eldest daughter occupied by her grandfather and their youngest daughter being held by her aunt, it gives the young parents a few quiet moments together.

Then, from where she's looking around the room, watching her daughters and her in-laws, Betty leans further into her husband, murmuring her educated guess into his ear after watching the other couple on the other side of the room for just a few moments.

"You know what I think? I give it a month before their engaged. Two months, tops."

While he was progressively becoming more and more used to just how quickly his little sister had grown up, the big brother in Jughead pales at his wife's words and her prediction.

"No way... You're way off" Jughead contends, inserting an eye roll for added emphasis.

However, deep down Jughead knows that his wife is way too accurate in her guesses to be wrong...

#

A little later on in the day, FP called his family outside to where he'd prepared their barbecue dinner with tables, chairs and picnic rugs scattered around the place.

Then, after dinner, FP was surrounded by all of his favourite people with his children, his children's partners and their own children all sitting around, scattered on the ground outside of the trailer on the balmy night under the stars.

With one granddaughter in his arms, one sitting on his lap and the other leaning against his shoulder, FP is on cloud nine.

Meanwhile, the parents are enjoying the few, quiet moments without their children.

Under the starlight, Jughead and Betty are just about dozing off together after a few rough nights from what they believe to be Blake feeling her teeth. He's running his hands through her golden locks that she wore loose today from where's curled up against his chest, feeling herself grow heavier with sleep as she becomes more and more relaxed.

Meanwhile, the other couple are wide awake from where they are sitting in the background, a little way away from Betty and Jughead and even further from where FP's sitting with his granddaughters.

Casey is leaning back against the tree where he and JB are canoodling, pressed up against together. The two of them whisper to each other eliciting frequent giggles from her and stifled chuckles from him with JB shuffling closer and closer to him in the darkness from where they are sitting a little way away from the others.

Then, with their parents all otherwise occupied, FP looks between his three beautiful granddaughters.

"Just call me 'Charlie' and his angels" FP had joked to his children and their partners a little earlier on as his eldest two granddaughters joined him as soon as they'd moved outside and where he was already rocking Blake in his arms.

The only thing that was better than a _dad_ joke was a _grandpa_ joke.

Then, as he scanned the three beautiful girls in his arms, FP hadn't stopped there.

"I tell you what though... I think having three granddaughters was the whole reason I ever joined the Serpents. You know, just to prepare to have a whole gang behind me to keep an eye on my girls."

That had been the last time he'd spoken to the adults, over half an hour ago, since they'd all settled into their spots outside.

Since then, FP had been engaged in conversation with Bailey predominantly as she babbled away from where she sat beside him on the grass, along with the odd statement or response from her cousin as Ellie spoke up every now and then with a word or response from her limited vocabulary.

Meanwhile, Blake had well and truly fallen asleep in FP's arms and as the night carried on, Ellie seemed to be heading that way too as she leans against her grandfather from where she's sitting on his lap.

However, Bailey continues talking on as she tells her beloved grandpa about anything and everything; her toys, her sister, her favourite movies, her day today and her friends at school.

Really, FP's the only one of the adults that is listening to her.

However, that is _until_ something that his eldest daughter says piques Jughead's interest and attention which he turns to her, despite missing the very beginning of her story.

It takes him a moment to catch up before Jughead realises that Bailey is telling his dad about a movie he thinks that she watched recently. She's telling him the plot and spoiling the story for him as she speaks, but that's not what has _really_ caught his interest as she delivers her review of the movie to FP, explaining the subplot in her own five-year-old terms that had been touched on lightly in the kids movie when a father left his family, only to return towards the end of the movie.

"... Yeah, it was a sad bit. The mummy cried a little bit too. There was lots and lots of happy things and funny things in that movie, but it made Bailey feel a little bit sad when the daddy in the movie leaved his family... _My_ daddy wouldn't do that."

Hearing those five words from his daughter prompts a flurry of feeling through Jughead.

Bailey was probably a little bit too young to remember her life _before_ Jughead was in it now. To her, it's almost as though he _has_ always been there.

But, he _had_ left her. Although he'd done it unknowingly, he had still left her.

However, as the five-year-old speaks to her grandfather candidly, speaking the words that go heard by her father, it fills Jughead with love, with peace with a touch of lingering guilt and with gratitude that -in her eyes- he wouldn't do that.

But, most of all, it fills Jughead with _relief_.

After all, despite _everything_ ; despite having left his girlfriend, despite having unknowingly left their unborn child and despite having missed out on the first three years of Bailey's life, hearing from his daughter herself that Bailey believes that he would never leave her or them and their family, means the world to Jughead.

He's hearing it from one of the people that it matters to most of all.

Feeling the flurry of feelings and emotions beginning to stir from within him, Jughead's eyes are already glimmering in the darkness even _before_ he begins to look around him...

After all, surrounding Jughead is his family; his father and his younger sister, along with her daughter and boyfriend. But, Jughead Jones's eyes are focused on a few people in particular...

 _His wife_... The woman he loves, the woman who has been the love of his life for as long as he can remember. The woman whose heart he broke all those years ago, leaving her, leaving her without so much as a goodbye and leaving her carrying their unborn child.

 _Their eldest daughter_... The girl who he had never even known _existed_ until she was three. The girl whose life he had missed out on the first few years of. The girl who had changed his life, turning life as he knew it upside in the best ways possible from the moment he learnt of her existence.

They were _what_ he left behind all those years ago.

Then there's _their youngest daughter_... The baby girl sleeping in his own father's arms who never would have had the chance to exist if he had gone through with his plan of over five ago, nor, if he'd never swallowed his pride and come home.

Even in the darkness of the night and even despite the reassurance and relief that their daughter's words had brought him, Betty's trained eyes _see_ the flicker of guilt that still plagues her husband, even to this day; the guilt that he will most likely _always_ carry with him.

So, from where she is rested against and nestled into his body, Betty leans up, resting her hand on his chest as she presses a reassuring kiss to his lips, stroking her hand down the side of his face.

While she can't deny their past, while she can't rewrite their history and while she can't tell him that he's wrong, Betty _can_ remind him of the most important part of the point and of their story.

And she does.

" _You came back."_

\- The End -

* * *

 **Thank you. To every single person who has reached this authors notes after sixty-seven chapters, thank you. Thank you for coming along for the ride, whether you've been here from the start, whether you've joined part of the way along or whether you've only started reading my story closer to end. Thank you. Thank you to each and every one of you who has left one comment, sixty-seven comments or any number of comments in between. I am so grateful for the support of everyone who has joined me and these characters on this journey and I hope that you have all enjoyed reading this adventure as much as I have enjoyed writing it.**

 **So, what's next for me? After a future fiction request from the lovely breaking_points in one of the latest chapters, I do actually have just one one-shot written and ready to post within this universe. It gives you a glimpse into Bailey's life as a teenager and a parallel of her friendship with her very own 'Archie and Jughead'. There is also one other standalone, unrelated one-shot that I've been working on for a while and have been considering posting. However, in terms of full-length stories, I'm not quite sure what comes next. I do have two story ideas that I've been working on fleshing out for a while. One is a whole new story, set a few years after season 3. The other idea I had been playing with for a little while; a short story based on almost a 'what if' to this one and what if Jughead hadn't left town. However, to be completely honest, unfortunately this latest season of Riverdale has left me a little uninspired so as to whether or not anything else comes to fruition from my ideas (other than the one-shot for this story which I've already written) we'll have to see...**

 **Also, since I don't usually post chapters quite so close together but I wanted to post the two parts of the epilogue within days of each other, if you haven't seen it or had a chance to read it, you might want to check out the first part of the epilogue if you haven't already done so!**

 **Once again, I'd just like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has joined me on this journey. I do hope you have enjoyed the ending to one, enormous story. I cannot wait to see what you all thought of how it all ends. I've had those final three words in my mind for quite some time!**

 **P.S. - Keep an eye out for the little 'What You Left Behind' one-shot! I'm hoping to post it later in the month.**


End file.
